Abstract
Metastable minerals commonly form during reactions between water and rock. The nucleation mechanism of polymorphic phases from solution are explored here using a two-dimensional Potts model. The model system is composed of a solvent and three polymorphic solid phases. The local state and position of the solid phase are updated by Metropolis dynamics. Below the critical temperature, a large cluster of the least stable solid phase initially forms in the solution before transitioning into more-stable phases following the Ostwald step rule. The free-energy landscape as a function of the modal abundance of each solid phase clearly reveals that before cluster formation, the least stable phase has an energetic advantage because of its low interfacial energy with the solution, and after cluster formation, phase transformation occurs along the valley of the free-energy landscape, which contains several minima for the regions of three phases. Our results indicate that the solid-solid and solid-liquid interfacial energy contribute to the formation of the complex free-energy landscape and nucleation pathways following the Ostwald step rule.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callMore From: Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
