Crystal growth in solution

The linear instability theory of the behavior of a system near the bifurcation point can be successfully applied to many self-organization problems, such as thermal convection in hydrodynamics4 and crystal growth in solution.5 In these theories, various initial fluctuations play important roles. Occasionally the fluctuations arise from the thermal motion of atoms or molecules. If a system reaches an unstable mode over... 

Figure 3.3. Various features of diffusion and convection associated with crystal growth in solution (a) in a beaker and (b) around a crystal. The crystal is denoted by the shaded area. Shown are the diffusion boundary layer (db) the bulk diffusion (D) the convection due to thermal or gravity difference (T) Marangoni convection (M) buoyancy-driven convection (B) laminar flow, turbulent flow (F) Berg effect (be) smooth interface (S) rough interface (R) growth unit (g). The attachment and detachment of the solute (solid line) and the solvent (open line) are illustrated in (b).

It is generally believed that crystal growth in solution occurs via an Ostwald-ripening mechanism (see above). Normally, this is assumed to proceed via addition of monomers to a polymer (cluster, nanocrystal, crystal). However, as noted above and described in more detail below and by Waychunas (this volume), this atom-by-atom mode of crystal growth is not unique, especially in nanomaterials. 

Kubota. N., Yokota, M. and Mullin, J.W. (1997) Supersatmation dependence of crystal growth in solution in the presence of impurities. Journal of Crystal Growth, 182, 86-94. 

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