crystallization
Sign in to saveCrystallization is a process that leads to solids with a uniform pattern of atoms or molecules, i.e. a crystal. The uniform nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization. Crystallization can occur by various routes including precipitation from solution, freezing of a liquid, or deposition from a gas. Attributes of the resulting crystal can depend largely on factors such as temperature, air pressure, cooling rate, or solute concentration.
AI overview
Crystallization is a process that produces solids with atoms or molecules arranged in a uniform, repeating pattern—unlike amorphous solids where atoms are randomly organized. This process matters because the properties of the resulting crystal depend heavily on conditions like temperature, pressure, and cooling rate, making crystallization important for controlling material quality in applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to materials science.
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Article
22 sectionsContents
- Process
- In nature
- Methods
- Typical equipment
- Thermodynamic view
- Dynamics
- Nucleation
- Primary nucleation
- Secondary nucleation
- Growth
- Size distribution
- Main crystallization processes
- Cooling crystallization
- Application
- Cooling crystallizers
- Evaporative crystallization
- Evaporative crystallizers
- DTB crystallizer
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with a uniform pattern of atoms or molecules, i.e. a crystal. The uniform nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization. Crystallization can occur by various routes including precipitation from solution, freezing of a liquid, or deposition from a gas. Attributes of the resulting crystal can depend largely on factors such as temperature, air pressure, cooling rate, or solute concentration.
Crystallization occurs in two main phases. The first is nucleation, the appearance of a crystalline phase from either a supercooled liquid or a supersaturated solvent. The second step is known as crystal growth, which is the increase in the size of particles and leads to a crystal state. An important feature of this step is that loose particles form layers at the crystal's surface and lodge themselves into open inconsistencies such as pores, cracks, etc.