Crystal growth refers to the process in which, driven by supersaturation, the solute continuously migrates towards the surface of crystal nuclei or seeds, and undergoes orderly arrangement and deposition there, gradually enlarging the crystal nuclei or seeds.
Crystal growth is a dynamic process that encompasses both crystal growth thermodynamics and crystal growth kinetics. Crystal growth thermodynamics primarily relies on thermodynamics to assess the rationality of the crystal growth path, determine the growth temperature to control an appropriate growth rate, and establish the possible morphology of the crystal. By studying phase equilibrium issues and the driving force of phase transitions during crystal growth, the problem of crystal morphology can be addressed.
Crystal growth kinetics mainly elucidates the growth mechanisms of crystals under different growth conditions and reveals the relationship between crystal growth rate and growth driving force. Generally, when other conditions remain the same, the growth rate of crystals accelerates with increasing temperature. During crystallization, stirring intensity can alter the motion speed of the liquid relative to the surface of crystalline particles, thereby accelerating the diffusion of the solute from the solution to the crystal surface, reducing the thickness of the diffusion layer near the surface, enhancing the conditions for solute transfer, and speeding up the crystal growth rate.