Besselink, R, Stawski, TM, Van Driessche, AES et al. (1 more author) (2016) Not just fractal surfaces, but surface fractal aggregates: Derivation of the expression for the structure factor and its applications. Journal of Chemical Physics, 145 (21). ISSN 0021-9606
Abstract
Densely packed surface fractal aggregates form in systems with high local volume fractions of particles with very short diffusion lengths, which effectively means that particles have little space to move. However, there are no prior mathematical models, which would describe scattering from such surface fractal aggregates and which would allow the subdivision between inter- and intraparticle interferences of such aggregates. Here, we show that by including a form factor function of the primary particles building the aggregate, a finite size of the surface fractal interfacial sub-surfaces can be derived from a structure factor term. This formalism allows us to define both a finite specific surface area for fractal aggregates and the fraction of particle interfacial sub-surfaces at the perimeter of an aggregate. The derived surface fractal model is validated by comparing it with an ab initio approach that involves the generation of a "brick-in-a-wall" von Koch type contour fractals. Moreover, we show that this approach explains observed scattering intensities from in situ experiments that followed gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O) precipitation from highly supersaturated solutions. Our model of densely packed "brick-in-a-wall" surface fractal aggregates may well be the key precursor step in the formation of several types of mosaic- and meso-crystals.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Sep 2016 08:45 |
Last Modified: | 01 Feb 2018 10:58 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4960953 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | AIP Publishing |
Identification Number: | 10.1063/1.4960953 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:105203 |