UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROLLING THE CRYSTAL MORPHOLOGY OF SOME IONIC-CRYSTALS

Computational techniques based on crystal structural information are described for predicting the equilibrium external morphology of particulate ionic solids. An understanding of the variation of surface chemistry between the various predicted crystal faces is outlined, by which a qualitative assessment of the effects of habit modification can be made. These approaches are applied to some ionic systems taken from carbonates, sulphates and phosphates, with reference to industrial applications as porous and high surface area crystalline builders.