Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the mechanism of crystal nucleation in NaCl solution. Our observations support a two-step mechanism, similar to that recently proposed for other systems [P.G. Vekilov, Nanoscale 2 (2010) 2346]. The two sequential steps consist of a concentration fluctuation resulting in a dense ion “patch” followed by spatial ordering. The second, spatial-ordering step is rate determining, consistent with some protein solutions. The “size” of the critical NaCl nucleus is ∼1nm, including ∼75 ions at ambient temperatures. Given that evidence for the two-step mechanism is found for solutes as different as NaCl and proteins, it appears to be an important mechanism of homogeneous crystal nucleation.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call