Coalescence and diffusion growth of nanoparticles in closed microvolume of supersaturated solution

A model is developed and numerically studied for the diffusion growth of nanoparticles in a closed microvolume of supersaturated solutions resulting from the evaporation cooling of microsized droplets of multicomponent aqueous solutions. Limits are established for the regimes that correspond to the stable growth of all nanoparticles and the onset of isothermal distillation. It is revealed that, in highly supersaturated solutions, the final nanoparticle radius is independent of the radius of primary particles. The final nanoparticle radius can be controlled by varying the concentration of primary particles. Specific calculations are performed for nickel oxide nanoparticles.