RT Journal Article
T1 The ice–vapour interface during growth and sublimation
A1 Cascajo-Castresana, Maria
A1 Morin, Sylvie
A1 Bittner, Alexander M.
AB We employed environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) in low-humidity atmosphere to study the ice growth, coalescence of crystallites, polycrystalline film morphology, and sublimation, in the temperature range of −10 to −20 ∘C. First, individual ice crystals grow in the shape of micron-sized hexagonal columns with stable basal faces. Their coalescence during further growth results in substantial surface defects and forms thick polycrystalline films, consisting of large grains separated by grain boundaries. The latter are composed of 1 to 3 µm wide pores, which are attributed to the coalescence of defective crystallite surfaces. Sublimation of isolated crystals and of films is defect-driven, and grain boundaries play a decisive role. A scallop-like concave structure forms, limited by sharp ridges, which are terminated by nanoscale asperities. The motivation for this work is also to evaluate ESEM's ability to provide a clean and reproducible environment for future study of nucleation and growth on atmospherically relevant nucleators such as materials of biological origin and inorganic materials. Hence, extensive information regarding potential ESEM beam damage and effect of impurities are discussed.
SN 1680-7316
YR 2021
FD 2021-12-22
LA eng
NO Cascajo-Castresana , M , Morin , S & Bittner , A M 2021 , ' The ice–vapour interface during growth and sublimation ' , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics , vol. 21 , no. 24 , pp. 18629-18640 . https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18629-2021
NO Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Maria Cascajo-Castresana et al.
DS TECNALIA Publications
RD 31 jul 2024