Theoretical Simulation and Experimental Study on the Crystal Morphology of L-arabinose

Abstract

The crystal morphology, growth faces as well as the structures of important facets of β-L-arabinose were simulated by BFDH, growth morphology(GM) and equilibrium morphology(EM) methods in this paper. By measuring the attachment energy and lattice energy of the crystal, the relative growth rates and morphology of the crystal is determined. Results show that the morphology of β-L-arabinose calculated by BFDH, GM and EM method is approximate rectangular parallelepiped, nearly cuboid and nearly spherical, respectively. The shape simulated by GM is consistent with the experimental crystal obtained by cooling crystallization. The {020} is the largest among all the facets calculated. Projection of the facet showed that there exists no hydroxyl group or hydrogen atom on the {020} facet, while some hydrogen atoms and a hydroxyl group appear on and outside the {101} facet. Conclusion: L-arabinose morphology can be modified by changing of standing layerthickness and the relative growth rate of {101} facet.