New Geometrical Modeling To Study Crystal Morphology

Abstract

The prediction of crystal morphology is important for sensor and device applications, as the morphology reflects the relative rate of growth in different crystallographic directions. Up to now, the geometrical model has not attached with the internal structure of atomic arrangement in the crystal lattice which plays a critical role for the experimentally observed morphology. We propose a new geometrical model in which crystal morphology is determined from the propagation vector of center of mass of the molecular basis in the crystal lattice. In this novel approach, the dependence of growth rate of different crystal planes on the bond strength between molecules of the crystal is inherently preserved. The development of the propagation vector is described in detail and is used to predict the morphology of different crystal structures. The accuracy of this method is established by solving the morphology of benzophenone, benzil, and l-prolinium tartrate crystals which is in good agreement with the experimenta...