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CRYSTALLIZATION

Nucleation captured on camera

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 5, page 144 (2021)Cite this article

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Most of us have witnessed the process of crystallization in some fashion, be it in everyday life or in the laboratory. But a clear picture of how this common process occurs — how crystals nucleate and then grow — has remained unavailable until now. Eiichi Nakamura and co-workers have used single-molecule atomic-resolution real-time electron microscopy (SMART-EM) to record the dynamic process of sodium chloride nucleation and growth inside conical carbon nanotubes with atomistic resolution.

To observe the real-time nucleation of sodium chloride, Nakamura and co-workers used a video imaging technique based on transmission electron microscopy that the group developed and successfully used to look at the dynamics of several organic and inorganic systems. The sodium chloride nucleation was captured inside vibrating, conical carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes were exposed to an aqueous solution of NaCl at room temperature and effectively act as a net for NaCl molecules.

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References

Original article

  • Nakamuro, T. et al. Capturing the moment of emergence of crystal nucleus from disorder. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 143, 1763–1767 (2021)

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Related article

  • Nakamura, E. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopic movies for study of organic molecules, assemblies, and reactions: the first 10 years of development. Acc. Chem. Res. 50, 1281–1292 (2017)

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  1. Nature Reviews Chemistry http://www.nature.com/natrevchem/

    Gabriella Graziano

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  1. Gabriella Graziano
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Correspondence to Gabriella Graziano.

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Graziano, G. Nucleation captured on camera. Nat Rev Chem 5, 144 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00261-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00261-w

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