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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Optimization of Crystal Growth for Neutron Macromolecular Crystallography
Published on: March 13, 2021
Additive Enhanced Creeping of Sodium Chloride Crystals
Eleanor R Townsend1, Willem J P van Enckevort1, Jan A M Meijer2
1Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 GL, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
This article investigates the mechanism behind the creeping of sodium chloride induced by additives. Here, an experimental approach is complemented with theoretical considerations to describe how creeping patterns of brine evolve and how the introduction of additives into the solution affects the morphology of the resultant crystals. We have found that these additives cause kinetic roughening and morphological instability mainly due to the reduction of surface free energy. There was also a marked increase in three-dimensional nucleation of the NaCl crystals and thus branching.
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