Distribution kinetics of Ostwald ripening at large volume fraction and with coalescence

Madras, Giridhar and McCoy, Benjamin J (2003) Distribution kinetics of Ostwald ripening at large volume fraction and with coalescence. In: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 261 (2). pp. 423-433.

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Abstract

Condensation phase transitions from metastable fluids occur by nucleation with accompanying particle growth and eventual Ostwald ripening. During ripening the subcritical particles dissolve spontaneously while larger particles grow and possibly coalesce if their volume fraction is large enough. The classical diffusion-influenced rates are also affected by large particle concentrations and are here described by mass-dependent rates. We represent the kinetics of ripening through growth, dissolution, and biparticle coalescence by a new population dynamics equation for the particle size distribution (PSD). Numerical solutions of the scaled governing equations show that coalescence plays a major role in influencing the PSD when the scaled mass concentration (volume fraction) or number concentration is relatively large. The solution describes the time range from initial conditions to the final narrowing of polydispersity. We show that the time dependence of the average particle mass in the asymptotic period of ripening has a power-law increase dependent on rate expressions for particle growth and coalescence at large values of volume fraction.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier Science
Keywords:	Ostwald ripening; Nucleation; Denucleation; Distribution kinetics; Particle size distributions; Particle growth; Aggregation; Coalescence
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	18 May 2009 09:23
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:53
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/16793

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