Journal article
Best Face Forward: Crystal-Face Competition at the Ice-Water Interface
The journal of physical chemistry. B, Vol.118(28), pp.7972-7980
17 Jul 2014
PMID: 24784996
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The ice-water interface plays an important role in determining the outcome of both biological and environmental processes. Under ambient pressure, the most stable form of ice is hexagonal ice (I-h). Experimentally probing the surface free energy between each of the major faces of I-h ice and the liquid is both experimentally and theoretically challenging. The basis for the challenge is the near-equality of the surface free energy for the major faces along with the tendency of water to supercool. As a result, morphology from crystallization initiated below 0 degrees C is kinetically controlled. The reported work circumvents supercooling consequences by providing a polycrystalline seed, followed by isothermal, equilibrium growth. Natural selection among seeded faces results in a single crystal. A record of the growth front is preserved in the frozen boule. Crystal orientation at the front is revealed by examining the boule cross section with two techniques: (1) viewing between crossed polarizers to locate the optical axis and (2) etching to distinguish the primary-prism face from the secondary-prism face. Results suggest that the most stable ice-water interface at 0 degrees C is the secondary-prism face, followed by the primary-prism face. The basal face that imparts the characteristic hexagonal shape to snowflakes is a distant third. The results contrast with those from freezing the vapor where the basal and primary-prism faces have comparable free energy followed by the secondary-prism face.
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Details
- Title
- Best Face Forward: Crystal-Face Competition at the Ice-Water Interface
- Creators
- Mary Jane Shultz - Tufts UniversityPatrick J. Bisson - Tufts UniversityAlexandra Brumberg - Tufts University
- Publication Details
- The journal of physical chemistry. B, Vol.118(28), pp.7972-7980
- Publisher
- Amer Chemical Soc
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- 1306933 / Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) CHE1306933 / United States National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Chemistry
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000339368800033
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84904558583
- Other Identifier
- 991022053792804721
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InCites Highlights
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- Web of Science research areas
- Chemistry, Physical