Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.278, 233-240, 1996
The Effect of Solvent in the Determination of Morphology - A Study of Epsilon-Caprolactam
The phenomenon of solvent-induced habit modification of materials is well documented. In much the same way as additives or impurities within a system can cause morphological differences, a change in the growth solvent can also result in dramatic crystal habit alterations. This research details a method of qualitatively predicting solvent-modified morphologies of epsilon-caprolactam, based on molecular dynamics and minimisation studies of solvent molecules on molecular surfaces. Binding energies are produced which are then related to original attachment energies in order to produce solvent-induced morphologies. The model predicts the appearance of a {31-1} form during growth from acetone and ethanol solvents, a phenomenon which has been reported previously.