Thomas H Dunn, Sebastian A Skaanvik, Ian J McPherson, Cedrick O'Shaughnessy, Xuefeng He, Alexander N Kulak, Stuart Micklethwaite, Adriana Matamoros-Veloza, Ilaria Sandei, Liam Hunter, Thomas D Turner, Johanna M Galloway, Martin Rosenthal, Andrew J Britton, Marc Walker, Mingdong Dong, Patrick R Unwin, Fiona C Meldrum
The ability to control crystal nucleation through the simple addition of a nucleating agent (nucleant) is desirable for a huge range of applications. However, effective nucleating agents are known for only a small number of systems, and many questions remain about the mechanisms by which they operate. Here, we explore the features that make an effective nucleant and demonstrate that the biological material hair-which naturally possesses a chemically and topographically complex surface structure-has excellent potential as an effective nucleating agent...
December 6, 2023: Crystal Growth & Design