Early Onset of Kinetic Roughening due to a Finite Step Width in Hematin Crystallization
Author(s)
Rimer, Jeffrey D.; Vekilov, Peter G.; Olafson, Katy
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The structure of the interface of a growing crystal with its nutrient phase largely determines the growth dynamics. We demonstrate that hematin crystals, crucial for the survival of malaria parasites, transition from faceted to rough growth interfaces at increasing thermodynamic supersaturation Δμ. Contrary to theoretical predictions and previous observations, this transition occurs at moderate values of Δμ. Moreover, surface roughness varies nonmonotonically with Δμ, and the rate constant for rough growth is slower than that resulting from nucleation and spreading of layers. We attribute these unexpected behaviors to the dynamics of step growth dominated by surface diffusion and the loss of identity of nuclei separated by less than the step width w. We put forth a general criterion for the onset of kinetic roughening using w as a critical length scale.
Date issued
2017-11Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MITJournal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Olafson, Katy N. et al. "Early Onset of Kinetic Roughening due to a Finite Step Width in Hematin Crystallization." Physical Review Letters 119, 19 (November 2017): 198101 © 2017 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0031-9007
1079-7114