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Related Concept Videos

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization01:25

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization

Crystallization is a phase transformation process in which crystals are precipitated from a supersaturated solution or formed from other sources. During crystallization, atoms or molecules arrange themselves into a well-defined, rigid crystal lattice to minimize energy.
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent – the...
Determination of Crystal Structures01:29

Determination of Crystal Structures

In the late 1800s, the revelation that light extended beyond visible wavelengths led to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. Recognized as high-energy electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths, X-rays prompted exploration into their interaction with crystals. Max von Laue proposed in 1912 that the periodic arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in crystals would cause them to diffract X-rays, a hypothesis confirmed through experiments with copper sulfate and zinc sulfide...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects01:25

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects

A perfect crystal, in theory, has a uniform structure with the same unit cell and lattice points throughout. However, any deviation from this periodic arrangement is known as an imperfection or defect. These defects can be categorized into three types: point, line, and plane defects.Point defects occur when there is a deviation from the ideal due to missing atoms, displaced atoms, or additional atoms. These imperfections might occur due to imperfect packing during crystallization or because of...
X-ray Crystallography02:18

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Ionic Crystal Structures02:42

Ionic Crystal Structures

Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes02:58

Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes

Crystal Field Theory
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography
12:29

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography

Published on: March 13, 2021

Direction-specific interactions control crystal growth by oriented attachment.

Dongsheng Li1, Michael H Nielsen, Jonathan R I Lee

  • 1Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|May 26, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Oriented attachment drives crystal growth by aligning nanoparticles. Direct observation reveals atom-by-atom addition at contact points, guided by specific interactions.

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Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography
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Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography
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Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

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On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature
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On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Crystallography

Background:

  • Oriented attachment is a key crystal growth mechanism for molecular clusters and nanoparticles in solution.
  • The precise alignment and attachment mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To directly observe and elucidate the oriented attachment process of iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles.
  • To establish the dynamics of particle alignment and the subsequent attachment mechanism.

Main Methods:

  • High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was employed.
  • A fluid cell was utilized to enable in-situ observation of nanoparticle behavior in solution.

Main Results:

  • Observed nanoparticles undergoing continuous rotation and interaction until achieving a perfect lattice match.
  • Documented a rapid, sub-nanometer contact event followed by atom-by-atom addition at the interface.
  • Interface elimination rate correlated with Gibbs free energy and curvature.

Conclusions:

  • Strong, direction-specific interactions are the primary drivers of crystal growth via oriented attachment.
  • This study provides direct evidence for the mechanism of oriented attachment at the nanoscale.