Inducción de hábitos cristalinos por efecto de anisotropía del aporte. Influencia de la entropía de superficie

Resumen

When a crystal grows under conditions that involve an anisotropic mass-transfer on their faces, a series of phenomena that affect the whole crystal morphology take place. The unequal development of homologous faces, the generation of inclusions in specific regions of the crystal, the formation of hollow crystals, macrosteps, "T" shapes, specific block-shaped faces, etc..., are some shapes considered. The coexistance in the same crystal growth and dissolution can be considered a a limit case of mass-transfer anisotropy, that involves the presence of flat and curved faces in the crystal. The above mentioned morphologies were obtained from crystal growth from solution by forced convection. Crystal shapes are considered as the intersection of three factors: Mass-transfer configuration, interface and supersaturation. The conclusions reached can be helpful for interpretating similar morphologies in natural crystals.