Through a combinatorial
approach involving theory and experiments,
this study investigated the mechanism of the dendritic growth of AlN
microcrystals during the combustion of Al + 0.1AlF3 + kAl2O3 powder mixtures under nitrogen-rich
conditions. The experimentally observed morphology of the dendritic
AlN crystals is characterized by the six-fold branches that developed
outward within an equatorial plane and secondary dendrites that grew
above and below the equatorial plane. The physical mechanisms that
lead to the shape-controlled synthesis of AlN dendritic crystals were
studied through experimental analysis and theoretical investigation
including density functional theory (DFT) calculation and phase-field
(PF) crystal growth modeling. Based on the DFT-calculated surface
energy values, an energy minimization argument was used to construct
the AlN nucleus. PF crystal growth modeling provides the details of
the sequential crystallization process of the dendritic AlN crystals.
The results of this study provide a complete understanding of the
shape-controlled growth of AlN crystals, which aids the rational growth
design of AlN and other relevant compounds.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.