Nucleation in sessile saline microdroplets: induction time measurement <i>via</i> deliquescence–recrystallization cycling
Ruel Cedeno, Romain Grossier, Mehdi Lagaize, David Nérini, Nadine Candoni, Adrian E. Flood, Stéphane Veesler
Abstract
-sample Anderson-Darling test) reveals that upon identifying possible outliers, the dimensionless induction times obtained from different datasets (microdroplet lines) obey the same distribution and thus can be pooled together to form a much larger dataset. The pooled dataset showed an excellent fit with the Weibull function, giving a mean supersaturation at nucleation of 1.61 and 1.85 for the 60 pL and 4 pL microdroplets respectively. This confirms the effect of confinement where smaller systems require higher supersaturations to nucleate. Both the experimental method and the data-treatment procedure presented herein offer promising routes in the study of fundamental aspects of nucleation kinetics, particularly confinement effects, and are adaptable to other salts, pharmaceuticals, or biological crystals of interest.