Directed nucleation and crystal growth from solution using surface energy modified amorphous materials

Abstract

A means of directing nucleation and crystal growth has been developed in which these stages of crystallization are influenced by surface energy modifications to amorphous substrates. The surface energy of a substrate can affect the contact angle, line tension, wettability and energetics of the interaction with a supersaturated solution, and these factors are important in crystallization. The use of amorphous substrates creates an opportunity to modify their surface to create useful ranges of surface energies that enhance or inhibit, as may be advantageous, the thermodynamic, kinetic, or a combination of both, factors in nucleation, crystal growth, or crystallization from a supersaturated solution.

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