Simultaneous Crystallization Effects in Multiple Levitated Plasma-Functionalized Graphene Nanoflake Nanofluid Droplets

Acoustic levitation is a container-free method for examining novel crystallization effects, though liquid-to-solid phase change has seen little investigation for levitated nanofluids. Recent developments have allowed for examining the morphological and temperature evolution of multiple levitated nanofluid droplets freezing simultaneously. The fundamental effect of adding nanoparticles to a levitated crystallization system is crystal growth rate enhancement from improved mass transfer at the growing solid front. Nucleation times are unaffected as freezing is initiated by secondary ice nucleation particles (INPs). Instead, the enhancement produces higher instantaneous nucleation pressures and more cracking in the primary ice shell. In turn, more INPs are ejected, resulting in faster protrusion formation on the droplet surface (hastened further in systems containing adjacent droplets). The crystal matrix also includes more defects, resulting in liquid escaping and forming beads at the droplet base and optical clarity loss. During crystal decomposition, thermal gradients create convective currents dampened by the same transport phenomena that enhance crystal growth. Suspension loss after a crystallization-decomposition cycle reduced opacity and light absorbance such that the droplets were 62% closer in appearance to water. However, the non-isobaric, sample-encompassing cooling process resulted in smaller particle clusters than if the droplets were frozen on a solid surface.