Titel
The role of structural order in heterogeneous ice nucleation
Autor*in
Prerna Sudera
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
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Abstract
The freezing of water into ice is a key process that is still not fully understood. It generally requires an impurity of some description to initiate the heterogeneous nucleation of the ice crystals. The molecular structure, as well as the extent of structural order within the impurity in question, both play an essential role in determining its effectiveness. However, disentangling these two contributions is a challenge for both experiments and simulations. In this work, we have systematically investigated the ice-nucleating ability of the very same compound, cholesterol, from the crystalline (and thus ordered) form to disordered self-assembled monolayers. Leveraging a combination of experiments and simulations, we identify a “sweet spot” in terms of the surface coverage of the monolayers, whereby cholesterol maximises its ability to nucleate ice (which remains inferior to that of crystalline cholesterol) by enhancing the structural order of the interfacial water molecules. These findings have practical implications for the rational design of synthetic ice-nucleating agents.
Stichwort
General Chemistry
Objekt-Typ
Sprache
Englisch [eng]
Persistent identifier
Erschienen in
Titel
Chemical Science
Band
13
Ausgabe
17
ISSN
2041-6520
Erscheinungsdatum
2022
Seitenanfang
5014
Seitenende
5026
Publication
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Projekt
Kod / Identifikator
616121
Fördergeber
Erscheinungsdatum
2022
Zugänglichkeit
Rechte
Rechteangabe
© 2022 The Author(s)
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