Abstract
The equilibrium shape of a critical nucleus has strong impact on important parameters of nucleation theory, such as nucleation rate. While on the flat substrate the growing nucleus has a shape of a spherical cap, a shape of a nucleus on a strongly curved surface of nanofiber is more complex. In the present paper we propose a simple model to estimate the deviation of the shape of the critical nucleus from the spherical one. It is shown, that the nucleus extends more in the direction of the axis of the nanofiber than in perpendicular direction, and the deviation from spherical shape is stronger in case of well wettable surfaces.
Highlights
In recent years, nanotechnology has found a constantly growing range of applications in civil engineering
The nanotextile imbued with silver nanoparticles and attached to the surface of construction material will inhibit a growth of molds and significantly improve the longevity of building
The nucleation rate, i.e. the number of overcritical nuclei appearing in the system per unit volume per unit time, is proportional to the exponent of the free energy of a critical nucleus: I ∼ exp(−∆Gc)
Summary
Nanotechnology has found a constantly growing range of applications in civil engineering. Nanotextiles by themselves have a number of useful properties, which make them a promising candidate for protective layers Their small thickness make them very flexible and nearly transparent, which is important, for example, for protection of historical building, which often have strongly curved architectonic elements. Because a nanotextile is a porous material, the air can relatively freely pass through it This porosity and extremely small radius of curvature of nanofibers lead to very high surface-to-volume ratio for this type of a material in comparison with usual protective materials like plasters. It means that nanotextiles interact with the environment stronger than usual materials. One possible way to achieve a uniform distribution of nanoparticles on the surface of a nanotextile is by a nucleation process. Technology involving this process has been suggested for improving the efficiency of semiconductor devices [4]
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