Nucleation and growth are critical steps in crystallization, which plays an important role in determining the crystal structure, size, morphology, and purity. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of nucleation and growth is crucial to realize the controllable fabrication of crystalline products with desired and reproducible properties. Based on classical models, the initial crystal nucleus is formed by the spontaneous aggregation of ions, atoms, or molecules, and crystal growth is dependent on the monomer’s diffusion and the surface reaction. Recently, numerous in-situ investigations on crystallization dynamics have uncovered the existence of non-classical mechanisms.
Recently, the research groups at Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, and International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory reviewed the research progress on the direct kinetic observations of crystal nucleation and growth by various in-situ kinetic techniques. This review provides a summary and highlights the in-situ studies of crystal nucleation and growth, with a particular emphasis on the state-of-the-art research progress since the year 2016, and includes technological advances, atomic-scale observations, substrate- and temperature-dependent nucleation and growth, and the progress achieved in the various materials: metals, alloys, metallic compounds, colloids and proteins. Finally, the forthcoming opportunities and challenges in this fascinating field are discussed.
The paper was published in Chemical Reviews with the title “In-Situ Kinetic Observations on Crystal Nucleation and Growth”. This work was financially supported by the S&T Partnership and International S&T Cooperation Program of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2020E01040), High-level Talent Project of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2020000039), National Natural Science Foundation of China (52002398, 22122509), the CASOLEM project (028917) co-funded by FCT and ERDF through COMPETE2020.
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