Crystal growth: an anisotropic mass transfer process at the interface.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Crystallography
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Crystal growth is a complex physicochemical process influenced by multiple parameters.
• Crystal features like geometry and size are determined by growth conditions.
• Understanding both thermodynamic and kinetic factors is crucial for controlling crystal formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate thermodynamic and kinetic factors in inorganic single crystal growth.
• To focus on the interfacial mass transfer process for crystal growth control.
• To identify critical control factors for anisotropic crystal growth.

Main Methods:

• Integration of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for crystal growth.
• Analysis of mass transfer processes at the crystal-solution interface.
• Classification of integrated parameters to extract critical control factors.

Main Results:

• Mass transfer driving force is linked to anisotropic chemical bonding architectures.
• Different concentration gradients arise along various crystallographic directions ([uvw]).
• Chemical bonding architecture directly influences mass transfer and anisotropic growth.

Conclusions:

• Controlling chemical bonding architecture offers a direct method to regulate mass transfer.
• This approach explains the origin of anisotropic crystal growth.
• The findings enable the formation of multicomponent crystals with diverse geometries.