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Liao Z, Das A, Robb CG, Beveridge R, Wynne K. Amorphous aggregates with a very wide size distribution play a central role in crystal nucleation. Chem Sci 2024; 15:12420-12430. [PMID: 39118639 PMCID: PMC11304771 DOI: 10.1039/d4sc00452c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
There is mounting evidence that crystal nucleation from supersaturated solution involves the formation and reorganization of prenucleation clusters, contradicting classical nucleation theory. One of the key unresolved issues pertains to the origin, composition, and structure of these clusters. Here, a range of amino acids and peptides is investigated using light scattering, mass spectrometry, and in situ terahertz Raman spectroscopy, showing that the presence of amorphous aggregates is a general phenomenon in supersaturated solutions. Significantly, these aggregates are found on a vast range of length scales from dimers to 30-mers to the nanometre and even micrometre scale, implying a continuous distribution throughout this range. Larger amorphous aggregates are sites of spontaneous crystal nucleation and act as intermediates for laser-induced crystal nucleation. These results are shown to be consistent with a nonclassical nucleation model in which barrierless (homogeneous) nucleation of amorphous aggregates is followed by the nucleation of crystals from solute-enriched aggregates. This provides a novel perspective on crystal nucleation and the role of nonclassical pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyu Liao
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Ankita Das
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Christina Glen Robb
- Dept. of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow G1 1XL UK
| | - Rebecca Beveridge
- Dept. of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde Glasgow G1 1XL UK
| | - Klaas Wynne
- School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
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2
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Li J, Li S, Huang S, Xu J, Yan Q, Jin S, Liu Y. Facilitating polymorphic crystallization of HMX through ultrasound and trace additive assistance. ULTRASONICS SONOCHEMISTRY 2024; 107:106946. [PMID: 38852536 PMCID: PMC11187238 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.106946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Low sensitivity octahydro-1,3,4,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) has garnered significant attention from researchers due to its reduced shock sensitivity. However, the crystallization process poses challenges due to the high solidity and viscosity of the metastable α phase. Despite efforts to address this with additional energy sources like ultrasonic irradiation, prolonged exposure duration often results in small particle sizes, hindering the production of HMX with a consistent particle size distribution, thus limiting its applicability. To overcome these challenges, a method combining ultrasonic irradiation and trace H+ additive was proposed and investigated for their impact on the polymorphic transformation of HMX. The H+ additive was found to modify barriers, thus there was a lack of competitive driving force for the nucleation or growth of the metastable α form, thereby shortening the transformation pathway and duration. Moreover, the H+ additive significantly accelerated the nucleation rate of the β form (67.7 orders of magnitude faster with 0.10 wt ‰ H+) and the growth rate of β form HMX (5.8 orders of magnitude faster with 0.10 wt ‰ H+). While H+ additive alone was insufficient to induce spontaneous nucleation of the β form, combining it with short-duration ultrasonic irradiation further promoted β nucleation and shortened the polymorphic transformation duration (almost 20 orders of magnitude shorter). This rational approach led to effective control of the transformation process. The resulting low sensitivity HMX crystals exhibited varying mean sizes ranging from 20 to 340 μm, with purity exceeding 99.6 %, an apparent density greater than 1.8994 g/cm3, and few internal defects, fully meeting the requirements of low-sensitivity HMX, thus significantly expanding its potential applications. Our study sheds light on the mechanisms governing HMX polymorphic transformation in the presence of additives and ultrasonic irradiation, offering guidance for the rational control of this complex transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Li
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering and Physics, Mian Yang 621900, China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Shichun Li
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering and Physics, Mian Yang 621900, China
| | - Shiliang Huang
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering and Physics, Mian Yang 621900, China
| | - Jinjiang Xu
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering and Physics, Mian Yang 621900, China
| | - Qilong Yan
- Science and Technology on Combustion, Internal Flow and Thermo-structure Laboratory, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China
| | - Shaohua Jin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Yu Liu
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering and Physics, Mian Yang 621900, China.
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3
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Geiger L, Howard I, MacKinnon N, Forbes A, Korvink JG. Enhanced Predictability of Urea Crystallization by an Optimized Laser Repetition Rate. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN 2024; 24:3589-3594. [PMID: 38708370 PMCID: PMC11066841 DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Laser-induced crystallization is a novel alternative to classical methods for crystallizing organic molecules but requires a judicious choice of experimental parameters for the onset of crystallization to be predictable. This study investigated the impact of the laser repetition rate on the time delay from the start of the pulsed laser illumination to the initiation of crystallization, the so-called induction time. A supersaturated urea solution was irradiated with near-infrared (λ = 1030 nm) laser pulses of pulse duration τ = 5 ps at a pulse energy of approximately E = 340 μJ while varying the repetition rate from 10 to 20,000 Hz. The optimal rate discovered ranged from 500 Hz to 1 kHz, quantified by the measured induction time (median 2-5 s) and the mean probability of inducing a successful crystallization event (5 × 10-2%). For higher repetition rates (5-20 kHz), the mean probability dropped to 3 × 10-3%. The reduced efficiency at high repetition rates is likely due to an interaction between an existing thermocavitation bubble and subsequent pulses. These results suggest that an optimized pulse repetition rate can be a means to gain further control over the laser-induced crystallization process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leon Geiger
- Institute
of Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen 76344, Germany
| | - Ian Howard
- Institute
of Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen 76344, Germany
| | - Neil MacKinnon
- Institute
of Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen 76344, Germany
| | - Andrew Forbes
- School
of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2017, South Africa
| | - Jan G. Korvink
- Institute
of Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen 76344, Germany
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4
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Korede V, Veldhuis M, Penha FM, Nagalingam N, Cui P, Van der Heijden AE, Kramer HJ, Eral HB. Effect of Laser-Exposed Volume and Irradiation Position on Nonphotochemical Laser-Induced Nucleation of Potassium Chloride Solutions. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN 2023; 23:8163-8172. [PMID: 37937191 PMCID: PMC10626568 DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c00865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we study the influences of the laser-exposed volume and the irradiation position on the nonphotochemical laser-induced nucleation (NPLIN) of supersaturated potassium chloride solutions in water. The effect of the exposed volume on the NPLIN probability was studied by exposing distinct milliliter-scale volumes of aqueous potassium chloride solutions stored in vials at two different supersaturations (1.034 and 1.050) and laser intensities (10 and 23 MW/cm2). Higher NPLIN probabilities were observed with increasing laser-exposed volume as well as with increasing supersaturation and laser intensity. The measured NPLIN probabilities at different exposed volumes are questioned in the context of the dielectric polarization mechanism and classical nucleation theory. No significant change in the NPLIN probability was observed when samples were irradiated at the bottom, top, or middle of the vial. However, a significant increase in the nucleation probability was observed upon irradiation through the solution meniscus. We discuss these results in terms of mechanisms proposed for NPLIN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikram Korede
- Process
& Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mias Veldhuis
- Process
& Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Frederico Marques Penha
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, Teknikringen
42, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nagaraj Nagalingam
- Process
& Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - PingPing Cui
- School
of Chemical Engineering and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Chemical
Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People’s Republic of China
| | | | - Herman J.M. Kramer
- Process
& Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Hüseyin Burak Eral
- Process
& Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
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5
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Nagalingam N, Raghunathan A, Korede V, Poelma C, Smith CS, Hartkamp R, Padding JT, Eral HB. Laser-Induced Cavitation for Controlling Crystallization from Solution. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 131:124001. [PMID: 37802957 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.131.124001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate that a cavitation bubble initiated by a Nd:YAG laser pulse below breakdown threshold induces crystallization from supersaturated aqueous solutions with supersaturation and laser-energy-dependent nucleation kinetics. Combining high-speed video microscopy and simulations, we argue that a competition between the dissipation of absorbed laser energy as latent and sensible heat dictates the solvent evaporation rate and creates a momentary supersaturation peak at the vapor-liquid interface. The number and morphology of crystals correlate to the characteristics of the simulated supersaturation peak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nagaraj Nagalingam
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
| | - Aswin Raghunathan
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
| | - Vikram Korede
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
| | - Christian Poelma
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
| | - Carlas S Smith
- Delft Center for Systems and Control, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, Netherlands
| | - Remco Hartkamp
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
| | - Johan T Padding
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
| | - Hüseyin Burak Eral
- Process and Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, Netherlands
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6
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Korede V, Penha FM, de Munck V, Stam L, Dubbelman T, Nagalingam N, Gutta M, Cui P, Irimia D, van der Heijden AE, Kramer HJ, Eral HB. Design and Validation of a Droplet-based Microfluidic System To Study Non-Photochemical Laser-Induced Nucleation of Potassium Chloride Solutions. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN 2023; 23:6067-6080. [PMID: 37547880 PMCID: PMC10401630 DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c00591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Non-photochemical laser-induced nucleation (NPLIN) has emerged as a promising primary nucleation control technique offering spatiotemporal control over crystallization with potential for polymorph control. So far, NPLIN was mostly investigated in milliliter vials, through laborious manual counting of the crystallized vials by visual inspection. Microfluidics represents an alternative to acquiring automated and statistically reliable data. Thus we designed a droplet-based microfluidic platform capable of identifying the droplets with crystals emerging upon Nd:YAG laser irradiation using the deep learning method. In our experiments, we used supersaturated solutions of KCl in water, and the effect of laser intensity, wavelength (1064, 532, and 355 nm), solution supersaturation (S), solution filtration, and intentional doping with nanoparticles on the nucleation probability is quantified and compared to control cooling crystallization experiments. Ability of dielectric polarization and the nanoparticle heating mechanisms proposed for NPLIN to explain the acquired results is tested. Solutions with lower supersaturation (S = 1.05) exhibit significantly higher NPLIN probabilities than those in the control experiments for all laser wavelengths above a threshold intensity (50 MW/cm2). At higher supersaturation studied (S = 1.10), irradiation was already effective at lower laser intensities (10 MW/cm2). No significant wavelength effect was observed besides irradiation with 355 nm light at higher laser intensities (≥50 MW/cm2). Solution filtration and intentional doping experiments showed that nanoimpurities might play a significant role in explaining NPLIN phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikram Korede
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Frederico Marques Penha
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, Teknikringen 42, 114-28 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vincent de Munck
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Lotte Stam
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Thomas Dubbelman
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Nagaraj Nagalingam
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Maheswari Gutta
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - PingPing Cui
- School
of Chemical Engineering and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Chemical
Engineering, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Daniel Irimia
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | | | - Herman J.M. Kramer
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Hüseyin Burak Eral
- Process
and Energy Department, Delft University
of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
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7
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Nagalingam N, Raghunathan A, Korede V, Overmars EF, Hung ST, Hartkamp R, Padding JT, Smith CS, Eral HB. Low-cost fluorescence microscope with microfluidic device fabrication for optofluidic applications. HARDWAREX 2023; 14:e00415. [PMID: 37078005 PMCID: PMC10106555 DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Optofluidic devices have revolutionized the manipulation and transportation of fluid at smaller length scales ranging from micrometers to millimeters. We describe a dedicated optical setup for studying laser-induced cavitation inside a microchannel. In a typical experiment, we use a tightly focused laser beam to locally evaporate the solution laced with a dye resulting in the formation of a microbubble. The evolving bubble interface is tracked using high-speed microscopy and digital image analysis. Furthermore, we extend this system to analyze fluid flow through fluorescence-Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique with minimal adaptations. In addition, we demonstrate the protocols for the in-house fabrication of a microchannel tailored to function as a sample holder in this optical setup. In essence, we present a complete guide for constructing a fluorescence microscope from scratch using standard optical components with flexibility in the design and at a lower cost compared to its commercial analogues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nagaraj Nagalingam
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Aswin Raghunathan
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Vikram Korede
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Edwin F.J. Overmars
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Shih-Te Hung
- Delft Center for Systems and Control, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Remco Hartkamp
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Johan T. Padding
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Carlas S. Smith
- Delft Center for Systems and Control, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Huseyin Burak Eral
- Process & Energy Department, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628 CB Delft, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author.
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