Effect Of Crystal Shape Research Articles

Effect of Crystal Morphology on Electrochemical Performances of IRH-2 and IRH-2/PANI Composite for Supercapacitor Electrodes.

In the context of recent progress in designing metal-organic framework (MOF)-based supercapacitor electrodes, we report herein the successful growth of two different crystal morphologies of a cerium-based MOF, octahedral crystals named IRH-2-O and elongated square-bipyramidal crystals named IRH-2-ESBP (IRH = Institute de Recherche sur l'Hydrogène). The identical crystal structure of both materials was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray mapping analysis corroborated this fact and showed the crystal shape variation versus the surface composition of synthesized materials. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and PXRD were used to confirm the purity of pristine MOFs as well as desired MOF//PANI composites. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy highlighted the effect of crystal shape on the electrochemical performance of IRH-2 MOFs; the specific capacitance tripled from 43.1 F·g-1 for IRH-2-O to 125.57 F·g-1 for IRH-2-ESBP at 5 mV·s-1. The cycling stability was notably ameliorated from 7 K for IRH-2-O to 20 K for IRH-2-ESBP. Regarding the composites, the cell voltage was notably ameliorated from 1.8 to 1.95 V. However, the electrochemical performance of IRH-2/PANI composites was drastically decreased due to instability in the acidic media. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first work that related the MOF crystal shape and the electrochemical performance.

Zeolite membrane separators for fire-safe Li-ion batteries – Effects of crystal shape and membrane pore structure

The state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIB) use carbonate-based liquid electrolytes and polymeric separators which pose safety issues including fire-hazard. The use of fire-retarding salt-concentrated electrolytes can address the safety issues of LIBs, but these electrolytes have high viscosity and low wettability with polymeric separators making it difficult to fabricate high performance LIBs with the electrolytes. Here we report development of zeolite membrane separators with tailored pore structure and surface chemistry for preparation of fire-safe LIBs using salt-concentrated electrolytes. The zeolite membrane separators are made of zeolite particles with a specific zeolite structure, Si/Al ratio, and different particle shapes, coated on cathode by a scalable blade coating method. Intermediate pore, pure silica MFI-type zeolite (silicalite) was selected as the fire-proof material for membrane separators which also offer high wettability for the fire-retarding salt-concentrated electrolyte of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) in tri-methyl phosphate solvent (TMP) solvent. Two silicalite membrane separators of similar pore size but different porosity and tortuosity were coated on cathode (LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 or NMC) using plate-shaped silicalite particles of low aspect ratio (LAR) and high aspect ratio (HAR). Both zeolite separators show significantly better wettability for the LiFSI/TMP electrolyte than the commercial polypropylene (PP) separator allowing fabrication of high-performance NMC/LiFSI-TMP/graphite cells with the non-combustible silicalite separator. The new fire-safe zeolite-membrane-based LIBs with the fire-retarding electrolyte exhibit excellent charge and discharge characteristics and cycle performance (similar to the state-of-the-art, but fire-unsafe LIBs with LiPF6-carbonate electrolyte and polymer separator). The membrane separators made of HAR plate-shaped zeolite showing low interparticle porosity and high tortuosity perform better than the membrane made of LAR zeolite particles, due to a more uniform lithium-ion flux from both interparticle pores and intraparticle zeolitic pores at the separator/anode interface.

Comment on "Reversible disorder-order transitions in atomic crystal nucleation".

Jeon et al. (Reports, 29 January 2021, p. 498) reported reversible fluctuations between disordered and crystalline states during nucleation. We argue that the adoption of "magic numbers" for separation of the size range into three parts is misleading when using the sigmoid functions and that their figure 3B was wrongly illustrated. The crystal shape effect was neglected during theoretical analysis.

Simulation of absorption and scattering spectra of crystalline organic nanoparticles with the discrete dipole approximation: Effects of crystal shape, crystal size, and refractive indexof the medium.

The effect of the shape (habit) of crystalline organic nanoparticles on their absorption spectra is studied by simulations using the discrete dipole approximation, focusing, in particular, on the vibronic structure of the absorption bands in the spectra. Simulations predict a significant effect that, for sufficiently small particles, can be simply rationalized by the depolarization factor. The crystal size and the refractive indexof the medium in which the nanoparticles are embedded are also found to have an effect on the absorption spectra. All factors mentioned are found to influence also the spectra of scattered light. These effects, already broadly documented for metallic nanoparticles, are here demonstrated theoretically for the first time for crystalline organic nanoparticles, providing novel insight into the optical response of such particles. The effects are expected to be displayed by all organic nanoparticles, as long as they have a well-defined crystal structure and are large enough for the optical properties to be understandable using a macroscopic dielectric tensor. The effects demonstrated here should be taken into account when rationalizing differences in absorption spectra of a substance in solution and in nanoparticle form, e.g., in deducing the type of intermolecular packing. The effects are much less pronounced for optically isotropic nanoparticles.

Luminescence feature of new 3,6-di(thiazolidin-5-one-2-yl)-carbazole derivative: synthesis, photophysical properties, density functional theory studies, and crystal shape effect.

A new carbazole chromophore conjugated with substituted thiazolidine-4-one (CzPT) was synthesized by applying the Knoevenagel reaction between 3,6-diformyl-N-hexylcarbazole and ethyl 2-aceto-2-(5-oxo-3-phenylthiazolidin-2-ylidene)acetate. The chemical structure of the new derivative (CzPT) was elucidated by spectral studies. The CzPT absorption spectra in different solvents exhibited a red shift for λmax by increasing solvent polarity. Bands at 430-474 nm appeared and were attributed to intramolecular charge transfer with high π-π* characteristics. CzPT fluorescence spectra exhibited a red shift after increasing the solvent polarity. To understand the Stokes' shift ( behaviour of the CzPT derivative referring to the polarity of solvents, Lippert-Mataga and linear solvation-energy relationship (LSER) models were employed in which the LSER exhibited respectable results compared with Lippert-Mataga (r2 = 0.9707). Moreover, time-dependent density functional theory absorption spectra in hexane and dimethylformamide showed that λmax had a major contribution in the highest occupied molecular orbital to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital transition in both solvents. In addition, the reduced uniformity of crystal features may lead to dislocation or anomalous arrangement of crystals with irregular spacing, which automatically enhances the optical properties of such crystals.

Fo and Ni Relations in Olivine Differentiate between Crystallization and Diffusion Trends

Abstract Nickel is a strongly compatible element in olivine, and thus fractional crystallization of olivine typically results in a concave-up trend on a Fo–Ni diagram. ‘Ni-enriched’ olivine compositions are considered those that fall above such a crystallization trend. To explain Ni-enriched olivine crystals, we develop a set of theoretical and computational models to describe how primitive olivine phenocrysts from a parent (high-Mg, high-Ni) basalt re-equilibrate with an evolved (low-Mg, low-Ni) melt through diffusion. These models describe the progressive loss of Fo and Ni in olivine cores during protracted diffusion for various crystal shapes and different relative diffusivities for Ni and Fe–Mg. In the case when the diffusivity of Ni is lower than that for Fe–Mg interdiffusion, then olivine phenocrysts affected by protracted diffusion form a concave-down trend that contrasts with the concave-up crystallization trend. Models for different simple geometries show that the concavity of the diffusion trend does not depend on the size of the crystals and only weakly depends on their shape. We also find that the effect of diffusion anisotropy on trend concavity is of the same magnitude as the effect of crystal shape. Thus, both diffusion anisotropy and crystal shape do not significantly change the concave-down diffusion trend. Three-dimensional numerical diffusion models using a range of more complex, realistic olivine morphologies with anisotropy corroborate this conclusion. Thus, the curvature of the concave-down diffusion trend is mainly determined by the ratio of Ni and Fe–Mg diffusion coefficients. The initial and final points of the diffusion trend are in turn determined by the compositional contrast between mafic and more evolved melts that have mixed to cause disequilibrium between olivine cores and surrounding melt. We present several examples of measurements on olivine from arc basalts from Kamchatka, and published olivine datasets from mafic magmas from non-subduction settings (lamproites and kimberlites) that are consistent with diffusion-controlled Fo–Ni behaviour. In each case the ratio of Ni and Fe–Mg diffusion coefficients is indicated to be <1. These examples show that crystallization and diffusion can be distinguished by concave-up and concave-down trends in Fo–Ni diagrams.

Exploring the Reliability of DFT Calculations of the Infrared and Terahertz Spectra of Sodium Peroxodisulfate

A number of DFT programs with various combinations of pseudo-potentials and van der Waals’ dispersive corrections have been used to optimize the structure of sodium peroxodisulfate, Na2(SO4)2, and to calculate the infrared, attenuated total reflectance and terahertz absorption spectra of the powdered crystal. Comparison of the results from the different methods highlights the problems of calculating the absorption spectrum reliably. In particular the low frequency phonon modes are especially sensitive to the choice of grids to represent the wavefunction or the charge distribution, k-point integration grid and the energy cutoff. A comparison is made between the Maxwell-Garnett (MG) and Bruggeman effective medium methods used to account for the effect of crystal shape on the predicted spectrum. Possible scattering of light by air inclusions in the sample and by larger particles of Na2(SO4)2 is also considered using the Mie method. The results of the calculations are compared with experimental measurements of the transmission and attenuated total reflection spectra.

Viscosity of slags with solids: The effect of solids morphology and concentration

The viscosity of slags containing crystallized solids is always of great interest for materials scientists working in high-temperature slag processing, as it strongly affects slag flow behavior. Different slag characteristics, such as liquid phase composition, concentration of solid phases, and crystal morphology, have different impacts on the slag viscosity. However, the effect of crystal shape and size is hard to demonstrate directly in high-temperature slag experiments, because other slag characteristics may also change. The present work provides experimental results for the viscosity of two slags from the olivine primary phase field, which have slag assemblies with different olivine shapes and sizes, while the other slag characteristics remain the same. The results clearly demonstrate that the crystal morphology has a pronounced effect on the slag viscosity. A detailed analysis of the slag microstructure also provides insight into their Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow behavior. The experimental results were used to evaluate different models of the effective viscosity of classical/archetypal suspensions. Based on this evaluation, we suggest that elongated olivine crystals, which are randomly oriented in the melt at rest and at lower rotation speeds, can become aligned to shear at higher rotation speeds. The Powell model adequately describes such a rheological behavior of slags containing elongated olivine crystals, while the Krieger–Dougherty model is applicable to slags with polyhedral olivine crystals, with the intrinsic viscosity being close to theoretical values obtained for cuboids and prisms of various sizes.The viscosity of slags containing crystallized solids is always of great interest for materials scientists working in high-temperature slag processing, as it strongly affects slag flow behavior. Different slag characteristics, such as liquid phase composition, concentration of solid phases, and crystal morphology, have different impacts on the slag viscosity. However, the effect of crystal shape and size is hard to demonstrate directly in high-temperature slag experiments, because other slag characteristics may also change. The present work provides experimental results for the viscosity of two slags from the olivine primary phase field, which have slag assemblies with different olivine shapes and sizes, while the other slag characteristics remain the same. The results clearly demonstrate that the crystal morphology has a pronounced effect on the slag viscosity. A detailed analysis of the slag microstructure also provides insight into their Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow behavior. The experimental resul...

Response to Fraser & Wark's comments on A new theory for X-ray diffraction.

The criticisms of my theory, as given by Fraser & Wark [(2018), Acta Cryst. A74, 447-456], are built on a misunderstanding of the concept and the methodology I have used. The assumption they have made rules out my description from which they conclude that my theory is proved to be wrong. They assume that I have misunderstood the diffraction associated with the shape of a crystal and my calculation is only relevant to a parallelepiped and even that I have got wrong. It only appears wrong to Fraser & Wark because the effect I predict has nothing to do with the crystal shape. The effect though can be measured as well as the crystal shape effects. This response describes my reasoning behind the theory, how it can be related to the Ewald sphere construction, and the build-up of the full diffraction pattern from all the scatterers in a stack of planes. It is the latter point that makes the Fraser & Wark analysis incomplete. The description given in this article describes my approach much more precisely with reference to the Ewald sphere construction. Several experiments are described that directly measure the predictions of the new theory, which are explained with reference to the Ewald sphere description. In its simplest terms the new theory can be considered as giving a thickness to the Ewald sphere surface, whereas in the conventional theory it has no thickness. Any thickness immediately informs us that the scattering from a peak at the Bragg angle does not have to be in the Bragg condition to be observed. I believe the conventional theory is a very good approximation, but as soon as it is tested with careful experiments it is shown to be incomplete. The new theory puts forward the idea that there is persistent intensity at the Bragg scattering angle outside the Bragg condition. This intensity is weak (∼10-5) but can be observed in careful laboratory experiments, despite being on the limit of observation, yet it has a profound impact on how we should interpret diffraction patterns.

An experimental and numerical study of the light scattering properties of ice crystals with black carbon inclusions

We investigate the optical properties of ice crystals nucleated on atmospheric black carbon (BC). The parameters examined in this study are the shape of the ice crystal, the volume fraction of the BC inclusion, and its location inside the crystal. We report on new spectrometer measurements of forward scattering and backward polarization from ice crystals nucleated on BC particles and grown under laboratory-controlled conditions. Data from the Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer with Polarization (CASPOL) are used for direct comparison with single-particle calculations of the scattering phase matrix. Geometrical optics and discrete dipole approximation techniques are jointly used to provide the best compromise of flexibility and accuracy over a broad range of size parameters. Together with the interpretation of the trends revealed by the CASPOL measurements, the numerical results confirm previous reports on absorption cross-section magnification in the visible light range. Even taking into account effects of crystal shape and inclusion position, the ratio between absorption cross-section of the compound particle and the absorption cross-section of the BC inclusion alone (the absorption magnification) has a lower bound of 1.5; this value increases to 1.7 if the inclusion is centered with respect to the crystal. The simple model of BC-ice particle presented here also offers new insights on the effect of the relative position of the BC inclusion with respect to the crystal's outer surfaces, the shape of the crystal, and its size.

Effect of Crystal Shape and Aggregation of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate on Cellular Toxicity in Renal Epithelial Cells.

Renal epithelial cell injury is a key step in inducing kidney stone formation. This injury induced by crystallites with different shapes and aggregation states has been receiving minimal research attention. To compare the shape and aggregation effects of calcium oxalate crystals on their toxicity, we prepared calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals with the morphology of a hexagonal lozenge, a thin hexagonal lozenge, and their corresponding aggregates. We then compared their toxicities toward human kidney proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells. All four shapes of COM crystals caused cell-membrane rupture, upregulated intracellular reactive oxygen, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. This series of phenomena ultimately led to necrotic cell death. The overall damage in cells was determined in terms of both exterior and interior damage. Crystals with a large Ca2+ ion-rich (1̅01) active face showed the greatest toxicity in HK-2 cells and the largest extent of adhesion onto the cell surface. Crystals with sharp edges easily caused cell-membrane ruptures. The aggregation of sharp crystals aggravated cell injury, whereas the aggregation of blunt crystals weakened cell injury. Therefore, crystal shapes and aggregation states were important factors that affected crystal toxicity in renal epithelial cells. All of these findings elucidated the relationship between the physical properties of crystals and cytotoxicity and provided theoretical references for inhibiting stone formation.

Shape-dependent cellular toxicity on renal epithelial cells and stone risk of calcium oxalate dihydrate crystals

Renal epithelial cell injury causes crystal retention and leads to renal stone formation. However, the effects of crystal shape on cell injury and stone risk remain unclear. This study compared the cytotoxicity degrees of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) crystals having different shapes toward human kidney proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells to reveal the effect of crystal shape on cell injury and to elucidate the pathological mechanism of calcium oxalate kidney stones. The effects of exposure to cross-shaped (COD-CS), flower-like (COD-FL), bipyramid (COD-BD), and elongated–bipyramid (COD-EBD) COD crystals on HK-2 cells were investigated by examining the cell viability, cell membrane integrity, cell morphology change, intracellular reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), and apoptotic and/or necrotic rate. Crystals with large (100) faces (COD-EBD) and sharp edges (COD-CS) showed higher toxicity than COD-BD and COD-FL, respectively. COD crystal exposure caused cell membrane rupture, upregulated intracellular reactive oxygen, and decreased Δψm. This series of phenomena ultimately led to a high apoptotic rate and a low necrotic rate. Crystals with large active faces have a large contact area with epithelial cell surface, and crystals with sharp edges can easily scratch epithelial cells; these factors could promote crystal adhesion and aggregation, thus increasing stone risk.

Effects of crystal shape‐ and size‐modality on magma rheology

AbstractErupting magma often contains crystals over a wide range of sizes and shapes, potentially affecting magma viscosity over many orders of magnitude. A robust relation between viscosity and the modality of crystal sizes and shapes remains lacking, principally because of the dimensional complexity and size of the governing parameter space. We have performed a suite of shear viscosity measurements on liquid‐particle suspensions of dynamical similarity to crystal‐bearing magma. Our experiments encompass five suspension types, each consisting of unique mixtures of two different particle sizes and shapes. The experiments span two orthogonal subspaces of particle concentration, as well as particle size and shape for each suspension type, thereby providing insight into the topology of parameter space. For each suspension type, we determined the dry maximum packing fraction and measured shear rates across a range of applied shear stresses. The results were fitted using a Herschel‐Bulkley model and augment existing predictive capabilities. We demonstrate that our results are consistent with previous work, including friction‐based constitutive laws for granular materials. We conclude that predictions for ascent rates of crystal‐rich magmas must take the shear‐rate dependence of viscosity into account. Shear‐rate dependence depends first and foremost on the volume fraction of crystals, relative to the maximum packing fraction, which in turn depends on crystal size and shape distribution.

Persistent Contrails and Contrail Cirrus. Part I: Large-Eddy Simulations from Inception to Demise

Abstract Large-eddy simulations with size-resolved microphysics are used to model persistent aircraft contrails and contrail-induced cirrus from a few wing spans behind the aircraft until their demise after many hours. Schemes for dynamic local ice binning and updating coupled radiation dynamically as needed in individual columns were developed for numerical efficiency, along with a scheme for maintaining realistic ambient turbulence over long times. These capabilities are used to study some of the critical dynamics involved in contrail evolution and to explore the simulation features required for adequate treatment of different components. A “quasi 3D” approach is identified as a useful approximation of the full dynamics, reducing the computation to allow a larger parameter space to be studied. Ice crystal number loss involving competition between different crystal sizes is found to be significant for both young contrails and aging contrail cirrus. As a consequence, the sensitivity to the initial number of ice crystals in the contrail above a threshold is found to decrease significantly over time, and uncertainties in the ice deposition coefficient and Kelvin effect for ice crystals assume an increased importance. Atmospheric turbulence is found to strongly influence contrail properties and lifetime in some regimes. Water from fuel consumption is found to significantly reduce aircraft-wake-induced ice crystal loss in colder contrails. Ice crystal shape effects, coupled radiation, and precipitation dynamics are also considered. An extensive set of simulations exploring a large parameter space with this model are analyzed in a companion paper.

Effect of crystal shape on neutron rocking curves of perfect single crystals designed for ultra-small-angle scattering experiments

The present study has been conducted in the framework of the channel-cut crystal design for the Kookaburra ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (USANS) instrument to be installed at the OPAL reactor of ANSTO. This facility is based on the classical Bonse-Hart method that uses two multiple-reflection crystal systems. The dynamical theory of diffraction by perfect crystals distinguishes two cases: the Darwin case applying to infinitely thick crystals and the Ewald solution for very small absorption taking into account the reflection from the rear face of a plane-parallel crystal reflecting in Bragg geometry. The former is preferable because it yields narrower rocking curves. To prevent the neutrons to "see" the rear face, grooves were machined into the backside of perfect Si test crystals for single reflection and filled with neutron absorbing material. These samples were examined at the S18 instrument of the Institut Laue-Langevin. Unexpectedly the crystals with empty slots showed an increase of the rocking curve width. When filling the slots with an absorber the widths decreased, but without reaching that of the Darwin curve. Understanding the results and achieving a successful crystal design call for the development of a theory that permits to describe neutron diffraction from crystals with a structured back face.

The mechanism of electrical treeing propagation in polypropylene

Growth property of electrical treeing is an important parameter to evaluate the insulation performance of a polymer. The complex non-uniform state of aggregation structure determines the electrical treeing growth in polypropylene (PP), a typical semi-crystalline polymer. In this paper, the electric treeing resistance property experiments for PP as well as the PP sample with nucleating agents are carried out. Effects of crystal shape, crystallinity, and crystalline structure on the electrical treeing growth characteristics in PP and PP with nucleating agents have been analyzed using polarized light microscopy (PLM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermodynamic and dynamic mechanisms of electrical treeing propagation are represented respectively by the thermodynamically driven action of phase interfacial free energy and the discharge-avalanche theory, demonstrating the essential role of electric field distribution in electrical treeing growth. According to physical properties of crystalline phase and amorphous phase in semi-crystalline materials, a computational model of interior electric field distribution has been established to simulate local electric field distribution in the polymer material under needle-plate electrode configuration, and used to analyze the characteristics of electrical treeing channel growing along the grain boundary in semi-crystalline materials. Inhibition effects of crystalline structure changed due to the nucleating agents on electrical treeing growth along the electric field direction are investigated.

The effect of particle shape on suspension viscosity and implications for magmatic flows

[1] The rheology of crystal-bearing magma and lava depends on both the shape and volume fraction of the suspended crystals. We present the results of analogue rheometric experiments on monodisperse suspensions of solid particles in a Newtonian liquid, in which particle volume fraction ϕ and aspect ratio rp are varied systematically. We find that the effect of ϕ on viscosity is well captured by the Maron–Pierce model, and that this model is valid across the range of particle aspect ratios investigated (0.04 ≤ rp ≤ 22, i.e., strongly-oblate to strongly-prolate) when the maximum packing fraction ϕm is treated as a fitting parameter. The value of ϕm derived from fitting to our experimental data depends strongly and systematically on particle aspect ratio; hence, ϕm represents an effective proxy for the influence of particle shape on suspension rheology. We present a simple relationship for ϕm (rp) which allows the viscosity of a suspension to be calculated as a function of ϕ and rp only. We investigate the impact of accounting for crystal shape when modelling volcanic flows by simulating the eruption of magma carrying crystals of different aspect ratio, and conclude that the effect of crystal shape should not be neglected.

Morphology-controlled Preparation of Silver Nanocrystals and Their Application in Catalysis

Abstract The morphologies of silver nanocrystals have been successfully tuned from wire to versatile rod, cube, and sphere by varying the molecular structure of polyols. Effects of crystal shape on the catalytic performance of silver for hydrogen generation from HCHO solution have also been investigated. It was found that silver nanocubes were more active than nanorods, nanowires, and nanospheres.

Ice crystal shape effects on solar radiative properties of Arctic mixed-phase clouds—Dependence on microphysical properties

Based on 1-year cloud measurements with radar and microwave radiometer broadband solar radiative transfer simulations were performed to quantify the impact of different ice crystal shapes of Arctic mixed-phase clouds on their radiative properties (reflectance, transmittance and absorptance). The ice crystal shape effects were investigated as a function of microphysical cloud properties (ice volume fraction f i, ice and liquid water content IWC and LWC, mean particle diameter D m I and D m W of ice/water particle number size distributions, NSDs). The required NSDs were statistically derived from radar data. The NSD was composed of a liquid and a solid mode defined by LWC, D m W (water mode) and IWC, D m I (ice mode). It was found that the ratio of D m I and D m W determines the magnitude of the shape effect. For mixed-phase clouds with D m I ≤ 27 μm a significant shape effect was obtained. The shape effect was almost insensitive with regard to the solar zenith angle, but highly sensitive to the ice volume fraction of the mixed-phase cloud. For mixed-phase clouds containing small ice crystals ( D m I ≤ 27 μm) and high ice volume fractions ( f i > 0.5) crystal shape is crucial. The largest shape effects were observed assuming aggregates and columns. If the IWC was conserved the shape effect reaches values up to 0.23 in cloud reflectance and transmittance. If the ice mode NSD was kept constant only a small shape effect was quantified (≤ 0.04).

Effect of Crystal Shape on the Grain Growth during Liquid Phase Sintering of Ceramics

The equilibrium or growth shape of ceramic materials is classified largely into two categories according to the thermodynamic conditions imposed. One is a polyhedral shape where the surface free energy is anisotropic, and the other a spherical shape where the surface free energy is isotropic. In the case of grains with a polyhedral shape of anisotropic surface free energy, so-called abnormal grain growth usually takes place due to a significant energy barrier for a growth unit to be attached to the crystal surface. In the case of grains with a spherical shape of isotropic surface free energy, however, normal grain growth with a uniform size distribution takes place. In this contribution, the state-of-the-art of our current understanding of the relationship between the crystal shape and the microstructure evolution during the sintering of ceramic materials in the presence of a liquid phase was discussed.