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At least 451 records · Page 25

Anvil Glaciation in a Deep Cumulus Updraught over Florida Simulated with the Explicit Microphysics Model. I: Impact of Various Nucleation Processes

Simulations of a cumulonimbus cloud observed in the Cirrus regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) with an advanced version of the Explicit Microphysics Model (EMM) are presented. The EMM has size-resolved aerosols and predicts the time evolution of sizes, bulk densities and axial ratios of ice particles. Observations by multiple aircraft in the troposphere provide inputs to the model, including observations of the ice nuclei and of the entire size distribution of condensation nuclei. Homogeneous droplet freezing is found to be the source of almost all of the ice crystals in the anvil updraught of this particular model cloud. Most of the simulated droplets that freeze to form anvil crystals appear to be nucleated by activation of aerosols far above cloud base in the interior of the cloud ("secondary" or "in cloud" droplet nucleation). This is partly because primary droplets formed at cloud base are invariably depleted by accretion before they can reach the anvil base in the updraught, which promotes an increase with height of the average supersaturation in the updraught aloft. More than half of these aerosols, activated far above cloud base, are entrained into the updraught of this model cloud from the lateral environment above about 5 km above mean sea level. This confirms the importance of remote sources of atmospheric aerosol for anvil glaciation. Other nucleation processes impinge indirectly upon the anvil glaciation by modifying the concentration of supercooled droplets in the upper levels of the mixed-phase region. For instance, the warm-rain process produces a massive indirect impact on the anvil crystal concentration, because it determines the mass of precipitation forming in the updraught. It competes with homogeneous freezing as a sink for cloud droplets. The effects from turbulent enhancement of the warm-rain process and from the nucleation processes on the anvil ice properties are assessed.

Phillips, Vaughan T. J.↗

Heterogeneous Formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds- Part 1: Nucleation of Nitric Acid Trihydrate (NAT)

Satellite-based observations during the Arctic winter of 2009/2010 provide firm evidence that, in contrast to the current understanding, the nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) in the polar stratosphere does not only occur on preexisting ice particles. In order to explain the NAT clouds observed over the Arctic in mid-December 2009, a heterogeneous nucleation mechanism is required, occurring via immersion freezing on the surface of solid particles, likely of meteoritic origin. For the first time, a detailed microphysical modelling of this NAT formation pathway has been carried out. Heterogeneous NAT formation was calculated along more than sixty thousand trajectories, ending at Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observation points. Comparing the optical properties of the modelled NAT with these observations enabled a thorough validation of a newly developed NAT nucleation parameterisation, which has been built into the Zurich Optical and Microphysical box Model (ZOMM). The parameterisation is based on active site theory, is simple to implement in models and provides substantial advantages over previous approaches which involved a constant rate of NAT nucleation in a given volume of air. It is shown that the new method is capable of reproducing observed polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) very well, despite the varied conditions experienced by air parcels travelling along the different trajectories. In a companion paper, ZOMM is applied to a later period of the winter, when ice PSCs are also present, and it is shown that the observed PSCs are also represented extremely well under these conditions.

Hoyle, C. R.↗

Ice Nucleation in the Tropical Tropopause Layer: Implications for Cirrus Occurrence, Cirrus Microphysical Properties, and Dehydration of Air Entering the Stratosphere

Recent laboratory experiments have advanced our understanding of the physical properties and ice nucleating abilities of aerosol particles atlow temperatures. In particular, aerosols containing organics will transition to a glassy state at low temperatures, and these glassy aerosols are moderately effective as ice nuclei. These results have implications for ice nucleation in the cold Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL; 13-19 km). We have developed a detailed cloud microphysical model that includes heterogeneous nucleation on a variety of aerosol types and homogeneous freezing of aqueous aerosols. This model has been incorporated into one-dimensional simulations of cirrus and water vapor driven by meteorological analysis temperature and wind fields. The model includes scavenging of ice nuclei by sedimenting ice crystals. The model is evaluated by comparing the simulated cloud properties and water vapor concentrations with aircraft and satellite measurements. In this presentation, I will discuss the relative importance of homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation, the impact of ice nuclei scavenging as air slowly ascends through the TTL, and the implications for the final dehydration of air parcels crossing the tropical cold-point tropopause and entering the tropical stratosphere.

tropopause↗

Temperature Dependence in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Nucleation

Heterogeneous nucleation on stable (sub-2 nm) nuclei aids the formation of atmospheric cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) by circumventing or reducing vapor pressure barriers that would otherwise limit condensation and new particle growth. Aerosol and cloud formation depend largely on the interaction between a condensing liquid and the nucleating site. A new paper published this year reports the first direct experimental determination of contact angles as well as contact line curvature and other geometric properties of a spherical cap nucleus at nanometer scale using measurements from the Vienna Size Analyzing Nucleus Counter (SANC) (Winkler et al., 2016). For water nucleating heterogeneously on silver oxide nanoparticles we find contact angles around 15 degrees compared to around 90 degrees for the macroscopically measured equilibrium angle for water on bulk silver. The small microscopic contact angles can be attributed via the generalized Young equation to a negative line tension that becomes increasingly dominant with increasing curvature of the contact line. These results enable a consistent theoretical description of heterogeneous nucleation and provide firm insight to the wetting of nanosized objects.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Non-equilibrium Quasi-Chemical Nucleation Model

Quasi-chemical model, which is widely used for nucleation description, is revised on the basis of recent results in studying of non-equilibrium effects in reacting gas mixtures (Kolesnichenko and Gorbachev in Appl Math Model 34:3778–3790, 2010; Shock Waves 23:635–648, 2013; Shock Waves 27:333–374, 2017). Non-equilibrium effects in chemical reactions are caused by the chemical reactions themselves and therefore these contributions should be taken into account in the corresponding expressions for reaction rates. Corrections to quasi-equilibrium reaction rates are of two types: (a) spatially homogeneous (caused by physical–chemical processes) and (b) spatially inhomogeneous (caused by gas expansion/compression processes and proportional to the velocity divergency). Both of these processes play an important role during the nucleation and are included into the proposed model. The method developed for solving the generalized Boltzmann equation for chemically reactive gases is applied for solving the set of equations of the revised quasi-chemical model. It is shown that non-equilibrium processes lead to essential deviation of the quasi-stationary distribution and therefore the nucleation rate from its traditional form.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Nucleation and Grain Refinement of 7A04 Aluminum Alloy Under a Low-Power Electromagnetic Pulse

The effects of a low-power electromagnetic pulse on the grain size and cooling curve of high-strength aluminum alloy 7A04 were investigated for various pulse duty cycles. This electromagnetic pulse treatment was found to effectively produce fine grains with globular crystals and a uniform microstructure for pulse duty cycles between 20 and 40%. The key factors that affected grain refinement under the electromagnetic pulse included the electromagnetic energy and the conversion frequency between B and E. The nucleation rate increased as the nucleation period was extended. A new kinetic condition of magnetic nucleation was explored by decreasing the critical Gibbs free energy in the electromagnetic pulse, which was more sensitive under low undercooling. In addition, the crystal orientation was controlled in such a solidification environment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nucleation dependence of atomic layer deposition on diamond surface termination

Surface termination and interfacial interactions are critical for advanced solid-state quantum applications. Here, in this paper, we demonstrate that atomic layer deposition (ALD) can both provide valuable insight on the chemical environment of the surface, having sufficient sensitivity to distinguish between the common diamond (001) surface termination types and passivate these interfaces as desired. We selected diamond substrates exhibiting both smooth and anomalously rough surfaces to probe the effect of morphology on ALD nucleation. We use high resolution in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry to monitor the surface reaction with sub-angstrom resolution, to evaluate the nucleation of an ALD Al 2 O 3 process as a function of different ex and in situ treatments to the diamond surface. In situ water dosing and high vacuum annealing provided the most favorable environment for nucleation of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide and water ALD. Hydrogen termination passivated both smooth and rough surfaces while triacid cleaning passivated the smooth surface only, with striking effectiveness.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effect of Sn microalloying on the nucleation of L1 2 Al 3 Zr precipitates in a dilute aluminum-zirconium alloy

While L1 2 -Al 3 Zr nanoprecipitates provide a balance between strengthening and good electrical conductivity, the precipitation of L1 2 -Al 3 Zr in aluminum requires aggressive heat treatments. An improved age-hardening response was observed during isochronal aging of an Al-0.24Zr (wt%) alloy when microalloyed with Sn. A new mechanism termed Low melting point Element-Assisted Nucleation (LEAN) is proposed to explain the lower temperature nucleation of L1 2 -Al 3 Zr precipitates observed in this alloy based on the addition of a low melting point element, such as Sn. Characterization verified the first-principles density functional theory prediction that Zr and Sn atoms cluster during homogenization owing to the favorable binding energy of Zr-Sn-vacancy triplets. Direct microstructural observations revealed these clusters form Sn nanoprecipitates that assist the nucleation of L1 2 -Al 3 Zr at 200°C, where L1 2 -Al 3 Zr precipitation is not expected due to the low diffusivity of Zr atoms in Al. At higher temperatures (≳350°C), the acceleration of L1 2 -Al 3 Zr precipitation is driven by faster Zr diffusion in Al with Sn microalloying and the nuclei formed via the LEAN mechanism. In conclusion, this combination of mechanisms explains the improvement in age hardening through L1 2 -Al 3 Zr precipitation with Sn microalloying.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Non-classical nucleation and collective diffusion in epitaxially grown ultrathin films

We report that nucleation phenomena are very important in nature because they control the formation of novel phases which can have technologically important properties and applications. LEEM experiments in real time are described for island nucleation in Pb/Si(1 1 1), that show unusually fast, defect-free large Pb islands. The experiments confirm that this growth is due to the collective motion of the wetting layer and provide real time information about the rate of mass transport. Lastly, review of other experimental systems where similar unusually fast nucleation processes are present can lead to a better understanding of these intriguing processes, so predictability of the growth conditions (temperature, flux rate, coverage) can be attained.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In situ analysis of plasticity and damage nucleation in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy and laser weld

Highlights: • EBSD in situ tensile test on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy and laser weld • Mainly prismatic, basal and pyramidal a slip activity in the base metal • Damage nucleation in the vicinity of the β phase and at α grain boundaries • Alignment of 10-10 crystallographic direction with the tensile axis in the α′ laths of the weld metal • Crack initiation along specific laths interfaces, former β grain boundary or twinned martensite laths in the weld metal The present work addresses the mechanisms of plasticity and damage nucleation in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy and its laser weld. To this end, in situ tensile tests are performed in a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with a Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) camera. The slip activity is automatically analyzed using a modified Schmid analysis. It is shown that the slip activity of the base metal consists mainly in prismatic, basal and pyramidal a slip. Damage nucleation in the vicinity of the β phase and at α grain boundaries is also evidenced in the base metal. In the α{sup ′} weld metal (a microstructure similar to the one often obtained in additive manufacturing Ti-alloy parts), plastic deformation results in a crystallographic rotation of the laths tending to align the 〈10 1-bar 0〉 direction with the tensile axis. The rare events of crack initiation in the martensite are shown to occur along specific laths interfaces, former β grain boundary or twinned martensite needles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Direct observation of key aluminum hydroxide prenucleation oligomers for gibbsite nucleation and crystallization in sodium aluminate solution by liquid ToF-SIMS

The mechanism of gibbsite (aluminum hydroxide) crystallization from highly alkaline solutions such as Bayer liquors remains poorly understood, where aluminum (Al) transforms from largely tetrahedrally coordinated aluminate monomers in sodium aluminate solutions into a network of octahedra in gibbsite crystals. A variety of traditional analytical approaches applied to this system do not readily reveal the presence of higher-order oligomeric intermediates. To overcome this limitation, we employed in-situ liquid Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to examine the Al species present in concentrated sodium aluminate solutions favoring crystallization of gibbsite or sodium aluminate. A complex mixture of Al oligomers was found. By comparing the change in the relative concentration of Al oligomers with +1 and -1 charge, we were able to identify three major Al oligomer candidates, iso-tetramers, iso-pentamers, and cyclic-hexamers, for the nucleation and crystallization of gibbsite. The concentrations of iso-tetramers and iso-pentamers significantly surpass those of cyclic-hexamers. Time-dependent in-situ Raman spectroscopy analysis indicated that the appearance of gibbsite coincided with the peak concentration of these oligomers. The Density-functional theory (DFT) calculation suggests that the formation of iso-oligomers is more favorable than that of cyclic-hexamers. The combined results suggest that iso-tetramers and iso-pentamers play the most substantial role in the nucleation and growth of gibbsite in the sodium aluminate solutions. Our findings also suggest that the oligomers that promote gibbsite crystallization are more stable in dilute sodium aluminate solutions, making these solutions particularly suitable for efficient gibbsite crystallization. In conclusion, our study fills a major knowledge gap in understanding Al speciation that leads to the nucleation and crystallization of gibbsite in concentrated sodium aluminate solutions.

Bayer liquor↗

Nucleation and growth of α phase in a metastable β-Titanium Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr alloy: Influence from the nano-scale, ordered-orthorhombic O" phase and α compositional evolution

We investigated the nucleation and growth of α precipitates in the presence of nano-scale, titanium-rich, ordered-orthorhombic O" precipitates formed during heating at 5 °C/min to 400 °C in a metastable β-Ti alloy, Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr. The O" precipitates are found to assist α nucleation by serving as preferential nucleation sites. In the very initial stages of its precipitation, the α phase is found to have formed via a coupled diffusional-displacive mode as titanium-rich plates. At this stage, aluminum partitions equally between the β matrix and the growing α precipitates, but slowly diffuses up-hill into the α phase during isothermal aging at 400 °C for 15 h. The interplay between such pre-formed metastable phases and α can be exploited to tailor the microstructure, by refining the α distribution, and consequently improve the mechanical properties of β-Ti alloys. Finally, our work paves the way for exploiting this cascade of metastable phases for further microstructural engineering of β-Ti alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Indium–Poly(carboxylic acid) Ligand Interactions Modify InP Quantum Dot Nucleation and Growth

Size control through precursor reactivity in InP quantum dot (QD) synthesis has been difficult due to the presence of kinetically persistent InP clusters when using conventional indium carboxylate and tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine chemistry. However, the advent of indium halide/aminophosphine-based synthesis creates new opportunities to harness precursor design to impact nucleation and growth. Driven to further explore indium coordination as a synthetic handle in InP QD synthesis, we examined the effect of a strongly chelating anion on the nucleation and growth of InP QDs. Increasing the equivalents of metal-chelating aminopoly(carboxylic acid) EDTA ([CH 2 N(CH 2 CO 2 H) 2 ] 2 ) (0–0.75 equiv per indium) is found to decrease the final diameter of InP QDs from 4.5 to 2.3 nm by lowering the initial InP growth rate. This size trend is rationalized by invoking a continuous nucleation model. Control experiments carried out with substoichiometric equivalents of indium do not exhibit a drastic size decrease, pointing to complex effects of EDTA on the indium precursor reactivity. By 1 H NMR spectroscopy, EDTA is identified to form an octahedral complex with indium that is less reactive. Furthermore, this competitive decrease in reactivity and in the effective concentration of indium precursor is proposed to suppress the initial InP growth rates and consequently decrease the final size of the nanocrystals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Promotion of CaCO 3 Nucleation by Carboxyl- and Amine-Terminated Peptoid Nanotubes

The use of surfaces to promote heterogeneous nucleation of CaCO 3 has been extensively studied to better understand natural processes of biomineralization, to develop bioinspired approaches for synthesizing composite materials with diverse functionalities, and as a route toward accelerating CO 2 mineralization. Peptoids have emerged as a material of particular interest, because they offer tunable side chain chemistry while maintaining a constant long-range self-assembled architecture. Here, in this work, we investigate the ability of films of self-assembled -NH 2 and −COOH terminated peptoid nanotubes to promote the nucleation of CaCO 3 . Using a combination of atomic force, scanning electron, and optical microscopy, we find that interwoven films of nanotubes formed from peptoids with -NH 2 side chains promote the preferential formation of vaterite with the (001) plane parallel to the film and exhibit a lower interfacial energy than that reported for inorganic surfaces. In contrast, the film of −COOH-functionalized peptoid nanotubes is a much stronger promoter, giving a particle density 5 orders of magnitude larger than for the -NH 2 terminated peptoid nanotubes and enabling complete coverage of individual peptoid tubes with CaCO 3 nanoparticles that results in a composite material with a 50-fold increase in Young’s modulus. Thus, interwoven films of peptoid nanotubes provide a useful platform for investigating the impact of specific chemical groups on nucleation and offer potential application to accelerated mineralization of CO 2 for removal from the environment or modulation of mineralogy and properties of carbonate-based building materials.

carbon nanotubes↗

Nanoscale Nucleation and Growth of Electrodeposited Lithium Metal

Lithium metal has re-emerged as an exciting anode for high energy lithium-ion batteries due to its high specific capacity of 3860 mAh g -1 and lowest electrochemical potential of all known materials. However, lithium has been plagued by the issues of dendrite formation, high chemical reactivity with electrolyte, and infinite relative volume expansion during plating and stripping, which present safety hazards and low cycling efficiency in batteries with lithium metal electrodes. There have been a lot of recent studies on Li metal although little work has focused on the initial nucleation and growth behavior of Li metal, neglecting a critical fundamental scientific foundation of Li plating. Here, we study experimentally the morphology of lithium in the early stages of nucleation and growth on planar copper electrodes in liquid organic electrolyte. We elucidate the dependence of lithium nuclei size, shape, and areal density on current rate, consistent with classical nucleation and growth theory. We found that the nuclei size is proportional to the inverse of overpotential and the number density of nuclei is proportional to the cubic power of overpotential. Finally, based on this understanding, we propose a strategy to increase the uniformity of electrodeposited lithium on the electrode surface.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Robust Processing of Small-Molecule:Fullerene Organic Solar Cells via Use of Nucleating Agents

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of small-molecule bulk heterojunction solar cells is highly sensitive to the 'ink' formulation used to produce the photoactive layer. Here we demonstrate that the addition of nucleating agents renders device fabrication notably less susceptible to the ink composition, promising a route toward more robust processing of efficient devices over large areas and enabling more facile materials screening. We selected as a model system blends of 7,7-[4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-silolo[3,2-b:4,5-b]dithiophene-2,6-diyl]bis[6-fluoro-4-(5-hexyl-[2,2-bithiophen]-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole](p-DTS(FBTTh2)2) as the donor and [6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as the acceptor because this is one of the small-molecule OPV blends with a device performance that is most sensitive to ink formulation, especially when used with the processing aid diiodooctane (DIO). Addition of DIO is essential to obtain high device performances; however, a notable increase in device performance is only achieved over a very narrow DIO content regime. Use of nucleating agents drastically changes this situation and leads to well-performing devices even at extreme levels of DIO. We thus start to address here one of the great challenges in organic solar cell research: the fact that, too often, only a very limited composition range leads to high efficiency devices. This means that for every new donor or acceptor a multitude of formulations have to be tested, including in combination with processing aids, to ensure that promising materials are not overlooked. The use of nucleating agents, thus, promises to render materials discovery more straightforward as this dependency of device performance with composition can be reduced.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Probing the Effects of Dimethyl Aluminum Isopropoxide Surface Reaction Byproducts on Atomic Layer Deposition Nucleation

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes that leverage a myriad of metal–organic and complementary reactant combinations have been identified to realize precise and conformal thin film growth. However, the effects of the ALD reaction byproducts on nucleation and growth mechanisms are rarely considered. Site-selective ALD processes provide an opportunity for the detailed investigation of uniform surface sites with atomistic accuracy. Intentional pretreatment with a known ALD reaction byproduct – isopropanol – enables a significant improvement in the nucleation rate reproducibility of dimethylaluminum isopropoxide and water ALD on rutile TiO 2 (110). In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry reveals a partially reversible byproduct binding that is site-selective for TiO 2 (110) surface oxygen vacancies. First-principles calculations reveal surface site-specific thermodynamics for adsorption of isopropanol and water that may influence ALD nucleation. In conclusion, the sensitivity of site-selective ALD motivates consideration of secondary surface reactions when designing precision deposition processes, including area- or site-selective ALD reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Small Molecule Inhibitor-Modulated Al 2 O 3 Atomic Layer Deposition on Monolayer MoS 2 for Controlled Nucleation

The integration of ultrathin dielectrics on two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors is essential for advancing beyond-Si electronics. However, the intrinsic inertness of van der Waals 2D basal planes remains a primary bottleneck to achieving uniform dielectric nucleation and growth. Here, in this study, we introduce a small molecule inhibitor (SMI)-modulated thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) strategy, exemplified by aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) ALD on monolayer molybdenum disulfide (1L MoS 2 ) with acetic acid (HAc) SMI. The ABC-type sequence comprises HAc inhibitor (A), trimethylaluminum (TMA) precursor (B), and deionized H 2 O coreactant (C). In situ quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) studies reveal robust HAc adsorption on Al 2 O 3 and suppression of subsequent oxide growth on HAc-passivated surfaces. When applied to 1L MoS 2 , this inhibitory pathway enables HAc to selectively passivate nascent Al 2 O 3 nuclei formed on the MoS 2 surface, limiting their three-dimensional (3D) island coarsening and redirecting precursor adsorption toward the uncovered basal plane. Consequently, nearly continuous ultrathin (∼1.5 nm) Al 2 O 3 films are achieved on 1L MoS 2 with markedly improved uniformity compared to standard Al 2 O 3 ALD using TMA and H 2 O, as validated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further provide atomistic insight into HAc-modulated Al 2 O 3 nucleation, corroborating the energetic preference of HAc for Al 2 O 3 over MoS 2 and attenuated TMA adsorption on HAc-passivated surfaces. Spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy also confirms that the HAc-modulated process preserves the structural integrity of 1L MoS 2 , with only minimal strain and doping perturbations observed after dielectric deposition. This SMI-modulated approach offers a broadly applicable framework for controlling ALD nucleation across various inhibitors, ALD chemistries, and 2D materials, opening opportunities for reliable dielectric integration in next-generation nanoelectronics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗