The development of surface features and kinetics of the dissolution of stearic acid

Abstract

For the B and C modifications of stearic acid, the dissolution kinetics have been determined during the controlled dissolution into decane. For all temperatures the dissolution of the (110) and (001) faces was found to be a quadratic function of subsaturation, the kinetics being two to four times higher than for growth. The velocity of advance of etch pit borders on B varied linearly with subsaturation. By assessing the three-dimensional development of etch pit geometry, values for molecular surface properties were obtained. From the data it is concluded, that growth and dissolution proceed both via screw dislocations.