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Aging and solidification of supercooled glycerol
M E Möbius1, T Xia, W van Saarloos
1Kamerlingh Onnes Lab, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. mobiusm@tcd.ie
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B
|May 19, 2010
Summary
Slow cooling of glycerol is essential for solidification during aging. The aging temperature significantly influences solidification onset, revealing a distinct, soft slushlike phase with lower shear modulus compared to seeded crystals.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Supercooled glycerol aging exhibits recently observed solidification phenomena.
- Understanding glycerol's phase transitions is crucial for materials science applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the solidification of supercooled glycerol during aging.
- To determine the influence of cooling rate and aging temperature on glycerol solidification.
- To characterize the nature of the solid phase formed.
Main Methods:
- Controlled slow cooling of glycerol at 5 K/h prior to aging.
- Aging glycerol at temperatures between 220 K and 240 K.
- Rheological measurements using plate-plate and Couette geometries.
- Independent measurement of crystal phase shear modulus.
Main Results:
- Solidification requires slow cooling (5 K/h) prior to aging.
- Onset time of solidification is highly dependent on aging temperature (220-240 K).
- A distinct soft, slushlike phase forms, differing from seeded crystals.
- The slushlike phase grows at similar speeds but has a significantly lower shear modulus (nearly 2 orders of magnitude) than the crystal phase.
- Solidification was reproducible in Couette geometry but not in plate-plate geometry.
Conclusions:
- Slow cooling is a critical prerequisite for observing glycerol solidification during aging.
- The aging temperature plays a pivotal role in controlling the kinetics of solidification.
- A unique, soft solid phase of glycerol can form under specific aging conditions, distinct from crystalline glycerol.
- Further investigation is needed to clarify the exact nature and structure of this slushlike phase.
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