Dunn, T.H. orcid.org/0000-0002-5514-5835, Skaanvik, S.A. orcid.org/0000-0002-5302-8221, McPherson, I.J. orcid.org/0000-0002-9377-515X et al. (15 more authors) (2023) The Universality of Hair as a Nucleant: Exploring the Effects of Surface Chemistry and Topography. Crystal Growth and Design, 23 (12). pp. 8978-8990. ISSN 1528-7483
Abstract
The ability to control crystal nucleation through the simple addition of a nucleating agent (nucleant) is desirable for a huge range of applications. However, effective nucleating agents are known for only a small number of systems, and many questions remain about the mechanisms by which they operate. Here, we explore the features that make an effective nucleant and demonstrate that the biological material hair─which naturally possesses a chemically and topographically complex surface structure─has excellent potential as an effective nucleating agent. Crystallization of poorly soluble compounds in the presence of hairs from a range of mammals shows that nucleation preferentially occurs at the cuticle step edges, while a novel microdroplet-based methodology was used to quantify the nucleating activities of different hairs. This showed that the activities of the hairs can be tuned over a wide range using chemical treatments. Analysis of the hair structure and composition using atomic force microscopy, scanning ion conductance microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates that surface chemistry, surface topography, and surface charge all act in combination to create effective nucleation sites. This work therefore contributes to our understanding of heterogeneous nucleating agents and shows that surface topography as well as surface chemistry can be used in the design or selection of universal nucleating agents.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Inorganic Chemistry (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/R018820/1 EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/T006331/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Nov 2023 16:27 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jan 2025 09:44 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01035 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:204806 |