THE EFFECT OF HIGHLY SPECIFIC LATTICE HYDROGEN-BONDING ON MORPHOLOGIES OF SOLUTION-GROWN CRYSTALS

Morphologies of solution-grown crystals in systems containing strong a nd specific intralattice hydrogen bonding (nylons) are compared with s ystems displaying only van der Waals intracrystal attractions. The lat ter are shown to produce crystals that clearly mirror the underlying c rystallographic symmetry; in the former systems the morphologies are m uch more complex and disorganized. This difference is discussed in ter ms of intralattice forces affecting growth rates and chain rearrangeme nt during crystallization. Arguments deriving from differences in lame llar thickening behavior are also used to demonstrate this point. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.