Kinetics of Ostwald ripening in the presence of monomer diffusion along grain boundaries

Abstract

The kinetics of an Ostwald ripening is studied where the prevailing mechanism of cluster growth is monomer diffusion along grain boundaries. The model describes self-consistently the situation when the delivery of matter to a growing cluster is carried out by monomer diffusion along grain boundaries. An analytical and numerical study of Ostwald ripening kinetics in a homogeneous supersaturated solution is performed. The possible transition modes arising during the Ostwald ripening process are discussed with reference to changes in the dominant monomer delivery mechanism.