Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026
10:52
Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Multiscale theory of fluctuating interfaces: renormalization of atomistic models
Christoph A Haselwandter1, Dimitri D Vvedensky
1The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BW, United Kingdom.
Physical Review Letters
|March 16, 2007
Summary
We developed a multiscale analysis framework for atomistic surface processes. This method reveals a transition from smooth to mounded morphologies on 2D substrates during homoepitaxial growth.
Area of Science:
- Surface science and condensed matter physics.
- Computational materials science and statistical physics.
Background:
- Atomistic surface processes are crucial for material properties and fabrication.
- Understanding nanoscale growth phenomena requires bridging atomistic and macroscopic scales.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel multiscale analysis framework for atomistic surface processes.
- To apply this framework to homoepitaxial growth using the Wolf-Villain model and surface diffusion.
- To investigate scaling regimes and morphological transitions.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a multiscale analysis framework.
- Employing coarse-graining via renormalization-group (RG) trajectories.
- Deriving initial conditions from regularized atomistic theory.
- Modeling homoepitaxial growth with the Wolf-Villain model and concurrent surface diffusion.
Main Results:
- Successfully reproduced known crossover and asymptotic scaling regimes from simulations.
- Discovered an unexpected transition from smooth to mounded morphologies on 2D substrates.
- Characterized this transition along the RG trajectory.
Conclusions:
- The developed framework effectively analyzes multiscale surface processes.
- The framework provides new insights into growth dynamics and morphology.
- Identified a novel morphological transition relevant to thin film growth and surface patterning.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Theories of Dissolution: The Danckwerts' Model and Interfacial Barrier Model
Various dissolution theories provide insight into the factors that influence the dissolution rate. Danckwerts' Model suggests that turbulence, rather than a stagnant layer, characterizes the dissolution medium at the solid-liquid interface. In this model, the agitated solvent contains macroscopic packets that move to the interface via eddy currents, facilitating the absorption and delivery of the drug to the bulk solution. The regular replenishment of solvent packets maintains the concentration...
01:30Typical Model Studies
Fluid mechanics model studies often utilize scaled-down systems to predict fluid behavior in full-scale environments, such as river flows, dam spillways, and structures interacting with open surfaces. Maintaining Froude number similarity in river models is crucial, as it replicates surface flow features like wave patterns and velocities.
01:15Theories of Dissolution: Diffusion Layer Model
Dissolution, the process by which drug particles dissolve in a solvent, is explained by the diffusion layer model, a theoretical framework that simulates the absorption of oral drugs and allows us to analyze experimental data.
This process starts with a thin layer, saturated with the drug, forming at the interface between the solid and liquid. The solute then diffuses from this layer into the main solution. The Noyes-Whitney equation suggests that the rate of dissolution relies on the diffusion...
This process starts with a thin layer, saturated with the drug, forming at the interface between the solid and liquid. The solute then diffuses from this layer into the main solution. The Noyes-Whitney equation suggests that the rate of dissolution relies on the diffusion...
01:34Fluid Mosaic Model
The fluid mosaic model was first proposed as a visual representation of research observations. The model comprises the composition and dynamics of membranes and serves as a foundation for future membrane-related studies. The model depicts the structure of the plasma membrane with a variety of components, which include phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. These integral molecules are loosely bound, defining the cell’s border and providing fluidity for optimal function.LipidsThe most...
01:12Modeling and Similitude
Scaled modeling is a fundamental technique in engineering, enabling the study of large and complex systems by creating smaller, manageable replicas that recreate critical characteristics of the original. In hydrology and civil infrastructure, for example, scaled models of dams help analyze water flow, turbulence, and pressure. This method allows for accurate predictions of real-world behavior within a controlled environment, significantly reducing the cost and time involved in full-scale...
01:19Fluid Mosaic Model
Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane structure, proposed in 1935 by Hugh Davson and James Danielli, was the first model to be widely accepted in the scientific community. The model was based on the plasma membrane's "railroad track" appearance in early electron micrographs. Davson and Danielli theorized that the plasma membrane's structure resembled a sandwich with the analogy of...