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Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Strong dc electric field applied to supersaturated aqueous glycine solution induces nucleation of the gamma polymorph
Janice E Aber1, Stephen Arnold, Bruce A Garetz
1Othmer Department of Chemical & Biological Sciences & Engineering, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York 11021, USA.
Abstract:
Applying a strong static electric field to supersaturated aqueous glycine solutions resulted in the nucleation of the gamma polymorph. This is the first report of a strong dc field inducing the nucleation of a neutral solute in a supersaturated solution. We attribute this effect to the electric-field-induced orientation of the highly polar glycine molecules in large preexisting solute clusters, helping them organize into a crystalline structure. This result also lends further support to our proposed optical-Kerr mechanism for nonphotochemical laser-induced nucleation.
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