Chiral symmetry breaking during crystallization: an advection-mediated nonlinear autocatalytic process.
When a chiral chemical compound crystallizes from solution or from its melt, stirring often results in the formation of crystals of just one of the two possible enantiomers, while without fluid advection both enantiomers are formed. We demonstrate with simulations of the dynamics of the system that secondary nucleation is a nonlinear autocatalytic phenomenon that can explain these observations. Furthermore, we present theoretical arguments and experimental results that suggest that at the microscale the mechanism of secondary nucleation is whisker crystal growth and dispersion in the fluid flow.
Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, CSIC, E-18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain.
Julyan H E
JH
Cartwright
Juan Manuel
JM
García-Ruiz
Oreste
O
Piro
C Ignacio
CI
Sainz-Díaz
Idan
I
Tuval