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Ice nucleation on BaF2(111).

Peter Conrad¹, George E Ewing, Robert L Karlinsey

¹Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|March 3, 2005

Summary

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Barium fluoride (BaF2) is a poor heterogeneous ice nucleating agent because ice only partially wets its surface. Pitting the BaF2 crystal surface significantly enhances its ice nucleating ability, offering insights into nucleation mechanisms.

Area of Science:

Atmospheric Chemistry
Materials Science
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Heterogeneous ice nucleation on inorganic substrates remains poorly understood despite decades of research.
Barium fluoride (BaF2) was chosen as a model substrate due to its (111) surface's lattice match with hexagonal ice (Ih).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the ice nucleation properties of BaF2 as a model inorganic substrate.
To understand the reasons behind BaF2's unexpectedly poor performance as an ice nucleating agent.

Main Methods:

Two experimental series were conducted: vapor deposition of water on BaF2(111) faces and nucleation of liquid water on submerged BaF2 crystals.
Experimental results were analyzed using Fletcher's model, which links nucleation ability to substrate wettability.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

Thin films of water required supercooling to -30°C for freezing on smooth BaF2(111) surfaces.
Liquid water nucleation on submerged BaF2 crystals required supercooling to -15°C.
Calculations and experiments showed that ice partially wets smooth BaF2(111), explaining its poor nucleation ability.

Conclusions:

The partial wetting of smooth BaF2 by ice is the primary reason for its inefficiency as a nucleating agent.
Surface modification, specifically pitting, dramatically enhances the ice nucleating ability of submerged BaF2 crystals.
These findings provide crucial insights into realistic mechanisms of heterogeneous ice nucleation.