Tuning the Glass Transition: Enhanced Crystallization of the Laves Phases in Nearly Hard Spheres
Tonnishtha Dasgupta, Gabriele M. Coli, Marjolein Dijkstra
Abstract
Laves phase from a binary mixture of colloidal spheres and then selectively remove one of the sublattices. Although Laves phases have been proven to be stable in a binary hard-sphere system, they have never been observed to spontaneously crystallize in such a fluid mixture in simulations nor in experiments of micron-sized hard spheres due to slow dynamics. Here we demonstrate, using computer simulations, that softness in the interparticle potential suppresses the degree of 5-fold symmetry in the binary fluid phase and enhances crystallization of Laves phases in nearly hard spheres.
Topics & Concepts
Materials scienceHard spheresCrystallizationSPHERESPyrochloreChemical physicsColloidPhase (matter)Phase transitionDiamondLaves phaseCondensed matter physicsNanotechnologyThermodynamicsPhysicsChemistryPhysical chemistryIntermetallicAstronomyComposite materialQuantum mechanicsAlloyMaterial Dynamics and PropertiesGeological and Geochemical AnalysisPickering emulsions and particle stabilization