Jamin-interferometer-setup for the determination of concentration and temperature dependent face-specific crystal growth rates from a single experiment

Abstract An interference technique that permits the investigation of the crystal growth from a temperature controlled solution is presented. Contrary to Mach-Zehnder- or Michelson-type interferometers, the Jamin-interferometer applied in this work is characterized by improved thermal and long-time stability. In consequence a single experiment may comprise several temperature steps leading to significant changes in the bulk concentration. A procedure for the automated analysis of the acquired sequence of interference patterns is presented. Within this evaluation procedure the position of the selected crystal face, the bulk concentration and the vertical concentration distribution above the crystal are determined simultaneously. Long-term single crystal growth experiments in the range from 20 to 60 °C with sucrose and lactose crystals are used to test the method. The exact bulk concentration is determined by the interferometer. The obtained results for the growth rate of sucrose are consistent with values given in the literature. The vertical concentration distribution above the two saccharide crystals differs clearly indicating that the diffusion strongly limits the sucrose growth but not the growth of the lactose crystal. The major benefit of the described setup is that the data of a single experiment are sufficient to deduce the parameters of the model equation for the growth rate as a function of temperature and supersaturation.