Electron diffraction study of two-component clusters Ar–Kr: Features of the nucleation, growth mechanisms, and structural states

Abstract

The structure and growth processes of clusters formed in adiabatically expanding supersonic jets of gaseous mixtures of rare gases are investigated for the first time. Ar–Kr mixtures containing 0.1, 0.5, 2.5, and 20% Kr atoms are studied at temperatures and pressures of the gaseous mixtures at the nozzle entrance T0=100 and 120K and P0=0.15–2.5atm. The experiments give a number of results that shed light on the picture of cluster formation in Ar–Kr gaseous mixtures. It is established that the mechanisms of cluster formation depend substantially on the krypton impurity concentration and the temperature of the gaseous mixture at the nozzle entrance. The evolution of the character of the cluster formation, from homogeneous to heterogeneous, is traced. The intensification of rare-gas cluster growth by an impurity is revealed for the first time, and the concentration dependence of the transition from a process of formation of solid solutions to the formation of clusters containing only impurity krypton is traced.