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Published version

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2016-10-07

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cc-by (c) Alert, Ricard et al., 2016
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/106492

Formation of metastable phases by spinodal decomposition

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https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13067

Abstract

Metastable phases may be spontaneously formed from other metastable phases through nucleation. Here we demonstrate the spontaneous formation of a metastable phase from an unstable equilibrium by spinodal decomposition, which leads to a transient coexistence of stable and metastable phases. This phenomenon is generic within the recently introduced scenario of the landscape-inversion phase transitions, which we experimentally realize as a structural transition in a colloidal crystal. This transition exhibits a rich repertoire of new phase-ordering phenomena, including the coexistence of two equilibrium phases connected by two physically different interfaces. In addition, this scenario enables the control of sizes and lifetimes of metastable domains. Our findings open a new setting that broadens the fundamental understanding of phase-ordering kinetics, and yield new prospects of applications in materials science.

Subject

Col·loides, Transformacions de fase (Física estadística), Física estadística

Subject (English)

Colloids, Phase transformations (Statistical physics), Statistical physics

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Articles publicats en revistes (Física de la Matèria Condensada)
Articles publicats en revistes (Institut de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (IN2UB))
Articles publicats en revistes (Institut de Recerca en Sistemes Complexos (UBICS))
Publicacions de projectes de recerca finançats per la UE

Citation

ALERT ZENÓN, Ricard, TIERNO, Pietro and CASADEMUNT I VIADER, Jaume. Formation of metastable phases by spinodal decomposition. Nature Communications. 2016. Vol. 7, num. 13067. ISSN 2041-1723. [consulted: 17 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/106492

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