General Concepts of Crystallization:
Some Recent Results and Possible Future
Developments
Jürn W. P. Schmelzer and Christoph Schick
Abstract Classical nucleation theory is till now the major tool in the interpretation
of crystal nucleation and growth processes in a variety of liquids. For its application, the knowledge of the thermodynamic driving force and the dependence of the
surface tension on pressure and temperature, respectively, the knowledge of relations describing the curvature dependence of the surface tension is required. New
developments in this direction are summarized in the first part of the present chapter.
Based on these results, in a second part, the interplay of stress evolution and stress
relaxation and its effect on nucleation and growth are analyzed. It is shown then in a
third part, in which directions classical nucleation theory has to be extended possibly
in the future development in order to arrive at a satisfactory description of experimental data in the whole range of temperature and/or pressure. Particular attention
is directed here, in this respect, to deviations of the properties of critical clusters as
compared to the properties of the evolving macroscopic phases and different aspects
of the interplay of glass transition and crystallization. These general considerations
are supplemented by an analysis of some specific features of polymer crystallization
completing the present chapter.
Keywords Glass · Crystal nucleation · Crystal growth · Diffusion · Viscosity ·
Decoupling · Fragility
J. W. P. Schmelzer (B) · C. Schick
Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 23-25, 18059 Rostock,
Germany
e-mail: juern-w.schmelzer@uni-rostock.de
C. Schick
e-mail: christoph.schick@uni-rostock.de
C. Schick
Kazan Federal University, Kremlyovskaya str. 18, Kazan 420008, Russian Federation
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
T. A. Ezquerra and A. Nogales (eds.), Crystallization as Studied
by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy, Advances in Dielectrics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56186-4_1
1
Some Recent Results and Possible Future
Developments
Jürn W. P. Schmelzer and Christoph Schick
Abstract Classical nucleation theory is till now the major tool in the interpretation
of crystal nucleation and growth processes in a variety of liquids. For its application, the knowledge of the thermodynamic driving force and the dependence of the
surface tension on pressure and temperature, respectively, the knowledge of relations describing the curvature dependence of the surface tension is required. New
developments in this direction are summarized in the first part of the present chapter.
Based on these results, in a second part, the interplay of stress evolution and stress
relaxation and its effect on nucleation and growth are analyzed. It is shown then in a
third part, in which directions classical nucleation theory has to be extended possibly
in the future development in order to arrive at a satisfactory description of experimental data in the whole range of temperature and/or pressure. Particular attention
is directed here, in this respect, to deviations of the properties of critical clusters as
compared to the properties of the evolving macroscopic phases and different aspects
of the interplay of glass transition and crystallization. These general considerations
are supplemented by an analysis of some specific features of polymer crystallization
completing the present chapter.
Keywords Glass · Crystal nucleation · Crystal growth · Diffusion · Viscosity ·
Decoupling · Fragility
J. W. P. Schmelzer (B) · C. Schick
Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 23-25, 18059 Rostock,
Germany
e-mail: juern-w.schmelzer@uni-rostock.de
C. Schick
e-mail: christoph.schick@uni-rostock.de
C. Schick
Kazan Federal University, Kremlyovskaya str. 18, Kazan 420008, Russian Federation
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
T. A. Ezquerra and A. Nogales (eds.), Crystallization as Studied
by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy, Advances in Dielectrics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56186-4_1
1