Morphology of orthorhombic n-paraffin crystals: the influence of multiple connected nets

The morphology of orthorhombic paraffin crystals is predicted on the basis of a complete connected net analysis. Many facet orientations (h k l) contain multiple connected nets. The connected nets found are categorized in terms of symmetry relations and the physical implications of the presence of multiple connected nets are discussed. From the analysis of step energies it can be concluded that at low supersaturation the growth morphology is bounded by {0 0 1}, {1 0 0}, (1 1 1} and {0 1 0} faces, whereas at higher supersaturations the {0 0 1}, {1 1 1}, {1 1 0}and {0 1 0} faces are present. The predicted morphologies differ from the conventional prediction based on the attachment energy. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.