Ostwald ripening

E1026604

materials science phenomenon phase transformation mechanism physical process

Ostwald ripening is a process in materials science where larger particles grow at the expense of smaller ones due to differences in solubility or chemical potential, leading to coarsening of the system over time.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner coarsening	1
Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner theory	1
Ostwald ripening canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T13200171 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Ostwald ripening
Context triple: [Wilhelm Ostwald, notableWork, Ostwald ripening]

A. Mullins–Sekerka instability
The Mullins–Sekerka instability is a morphological instability that occurs during diffusion-limited solidification or crystal growth, leading to pattern formation such as dendrites at moving phase boundaries.
B. Becker–Döring theory of nucleation
The Becker–Döring theory of nucleation is a classical kinetic model in statistical physics that describes how clusters of particles grow or shrink through the successive addition or loss of single monomers, providing a fundamental framework for understanding phase transitions and nucleation rates.
C. Smoluchowski coagulation equation
The Smoluchowski coagulation equation is a fundamental integro-differential equation in statistical physics that models how particles undergoing random collisions aggregate over time into larger clusters.
D. Cahn–Hilliard equation
The Cahn–Hilliard equation is a nonlinear partial differential equation that models phase separation and coarsening in binary mixtures and other systems undergoing spinodal decomposition.
E. Néel relaxation
Néel relaxation is a magnetic relaxation process in which the magnetization of single-domain nanoparticles flips between energy minima due to thermal fluctuations without physical rotation of the particles.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Ostwald ripening
Target entity description: Ostwald ripening is a process in materials science where larger particles grow at the expense of smaller ones due to differences in solubility or chemical potential, leading to coarsening of the system over time.

A. Mullins–Sekerka instability
The Mullins–Sekerka instability is a morphological instability that occurs during diffusion-limited solidification or crystal growth, leading to pattern formation such as dendrites at moving phase boundaries.
B. Becker–Döring theory of nucleation
The Becker–Döring theory of nucleation is a classical kinetic model in statistical physics that describes how clusters of particles grow or shrink through the successive addition or loss of single monomers, providing a fundamental framework for understanding phase transitions and nucleation rates.
C. Smoluchowski coagulation equation
The Smoluchowski coagulation equation is a fundamental integro-differential equation in statistical physics that models how particles undergoing random collisions aggregate over time into larger clusters.
D. Cahn–Hilliard equation
The Cahn–Hilliard equation is a nonlinear partial differential equation that models phase separation and coarsening in binary mixtures and other systems undergoing spinodal decomposition.
E. Néel relaxation
Néel relaxation is a magnetic relaxation process in which the magnetization of single-domain nanoparticles flips between energy minima due to thermal fluctuations without physical rotation of the particles.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	materials science phenomenon ⓘ phase transformation mechanism ⓘ physical process ⓘ
basedOn	Gibbs–Thomson effect ⓘ linked to: Gibbs–Thomson condition
canBeReducedBy	adding ripening inhibitors ⓘ lowering temperature ⓘ reducing solubility of dispersed phase ⓘ
characterizedBy	decrease in particle number density ⓘ dissolution of smaller particles ⓘ growth of larger particles ⓘ increase in average particle size ⓘ
dependsOn	interfacial energy ⓘ particle size distribution ⓘ solute diffusivity ⓘ temperature ⓘ volume fraction of dispersed phase ⓘ
describedBy	r^3 ∝ t growth law under diffusion control ⓘ
drivenBy	curvature-dependent solubility ⓘ differences in chemical potential ⓘ differences in solubility ⓘ surface energy minimization ⓘ
field	colloid science ⓘ materials science ⓘ physical chemistry ⓘ
governedBy	diffusion-controlled kinetics ⓘ interface-controlled kinetics ⓘ
hasAlternativeName	Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner coarsening ⓘ linked to: Ostwald ripening coarsening ⓘ
influencedBy	elastic strain energy ⓘ particle-matrix coherency ⓘ presence of surfactants ⓘ solute supersaturation ⓘ
modeledBy	Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner theory ⓘ linked to: Ostwald ripening
namedAfter	Wilhelm Ostwald ⓘ
occursDuring	age hardening of alloys ⓘ emulsion destabilization ⓘ growth of quantum dots ⓘ precipitation in superalloys ⓘ sintering of ceramics ⓘ
occursIn	aerosols ⓘ emulsions ⓘ foams ⓘ liquid solutions ⓘ multiphase systems ⓘ nanoparticle dispersions ⓘ solid solutions ⓘ
resultsIn	change in catalytic activity ⓘ change in mechanical properties ⓘ change in optical properties ⓘ loss of fine dispersion ⓘ microstructural coarsening ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Wilhelm Ostwald → notableWork → Ostwald ripening ⓘ

Ostwald ripening → hasAlternativeName → Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner coarsening ⓘ

linked to: Ostwald ripening

Ostwald ripening → modeledBy → Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner theory ⓘ