SOLID-STATE REACTIONS AND MORPHOLOGY

The morphology of solid/gas interfaces and interfaces between crystalline solids during diffusion-controlled solid state reactions is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Three types of model experiments with oxides and halides are discussed where externally applied chemical and electrical potential gradients act as driving forces for the fluxes of defects in the crystals by which the interfaces are driven. Using linear stability analysis of the transport equations we analyze the stability of the interfaces on a macroscopic scale while the microscopic behavior is studied by applying Monte Carlo methods for defect diffusion in the crystal lattice.