Nanoscale insights into vibration-induced heterogeneous ice nucleation

Abstract

Accelerating ice nucleation in confined liquids is desirable in applications like food freezing, cryopreservation, and ice casting, but current techniques have their limitations. The use of high-frequency acoustic waves (AW) is a promising alternative but remains poorly-understood. We employ molecular dynamics simulations to investigate AW-induced ice nucleation within confined nanopores. By systematically varying vibrational amplitude and frequency, we identify five distinct nucleation regimes, forming a comprehensive regime map that links these parameters to nucleation outcomes. Our simulations reveal that ice nucleation is preceded by formation of ice-like clusters, and is strongly influenced by negative pressure induced by surface vibrations. A strain-based criterion is introduced to generalize the findings to larger lengthscales. This enables us to propose a universal framework for controlling ice formation via surface vibrations in industrial applications.