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Growth Inhibition of Sodium Chloride Crystals by Anticaking Agents: In Situ Observation of Step Pinning
journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-20, 04:43 authored by Arno A. C. Bode, Shanfeng Jiang, Jan A.
M. Meijer, Willem J. P. van Enckevort, Elias VliegWe have determined
how the growth of sodium chloride crystals is
inhibited by the anticaking agents ferrocyanide and iron(III) meso-tartaric acid. Using in situ atomic force microscopy,
we show how steps flow on clean crystals and how the step flow is
inhibited by the anticaking agents. At submonolayer coverages, steps
are temporarily pinned, whereas at higher coverages, no step movement
is observed at all. Finally, we found that the two anticaking agents
influence the surface morphologies of treated crystals differently,
providing a possible explanation for the observation that powders
treated with ferrocyanide flow freely whereas those treated with iron meso-tartaric acid show slip–stick behavior.