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Growth of 'dizzy dendrites' in a random field of foreign particles

Nature Materials volume 2, pages 92–96 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Microstructure plays an essential role in determining the properties of crystalline materials1. A widely used method to influence microstructure is the addition of nucleating agents1. Observations on films formed from clay–polymer blends indicate that particulate additives, in addition to serving as nucleating agents, may also perturb crystal growth, leading to the formation of irregular dendritic morphologies2,3. Here we describe the formation of these 'dizzy dendrites' using a phase-field theory, in which randomly distributed foreign particle inclusions perturb the crystallization by deflecting the tips of the growing dendrite arms. This mechanism of crystallization, which is verified experimentally, leads to a polycrystalline structure dependent on particle configuration and orientation. Using computer simulations we demonstrate that additives of controlled crystal orientation should allow for a substantial manipulation of the crystallization morphology.

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Figure 1: Experimental versus simulated dendrites.
Figure 2: 'Dizzy' dendrites.
Figure 3: Interaction of pinning centres with a dendrite tip of initial orientation, θ = 0 (fast growth direction is downwards).
Figure 4: Sequence of snapshots taken by optical microscope that shows the engulfment of a clay particle (dark spot marked by red arrow) by the advancing PEO dendrite.
Figure 5: Orientation map for the 'dizzy' dendritic particle from simulation shown in Fig. 2.
Figure 6: Phase-field simulations for complex pinning conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by contracts OTKA-T-037323, ESA Prodex 14613/00/NL/SFe, and ESA MAP Project No. AO-99-101. The authors would like to thank W. J. Boettinger for his helpful comments and criticism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, PO Box 49, Budapest, H-1525, Hungary

    László Gránásy, Tamás Pusztai & Tamás Börzsönyi

  2. Metallurgy Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, 20899, Maryland, USA

    James A. Warren

  3. Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, 20899, Maryland, USA

    Jack F. Douglas

  4. Laboratoire de Structure et Properiétés de l'Etat Solide, CNRS, Batiment C6, Villeneuve d'Ascq, 59655, France

    Vincent Ferreiro

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  1. László Gránásy
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Correspondence to László Gránásy.

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Gránásy, L., Pusztai, T., Warren, J. et al. Growth of 'dizzy dendrites' in a random field of foreign particles. Nature Mater 2, 92–96 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat815

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