In situ optical spectroscopy of crystallization: One crystal nucleation at a time.

ABSTRACT: While crystallization is a ubiquitous and an important process, the microscopic picture of crystal nucleation is yet to be established. Recent studies suggest that the nucleation process can be more complex than the view offered by the classical nucleation theory. Here, we implement single crystal nucleation spectroscopy (SCNS) by combining Raman microspectroscopy and optical trapping induced crystallization to spectroscopically investigate one crystal nucleation at a time. Raman spectral evolution during a single glycine crystal nucleation from water, measured by SCNS and analyzed by a nonsupervised spectral decomposition technique, uncovered the Raman spectrum of prenucleation aggregates and their critical role as an intermediate species in the dynamics. The agreement between the spectra

SUBMITTER: Urquidi O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9169808 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature