Attainment of growth stability through the widening of Ostwold–Mier's zone width: A novel technique

A novel method has been found to enhance the metastable zone width of solutions in their supersaturated region in order to grow large size crystals at a faster rate under stabilized conditions. In which, the incorporation of a small quantity of ethylinediamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) a well-known chelating agents, enhances Ostwold–Mier's metastable zone width significantly due to their chelating action. Also this incorporation reduces the secondary nucleation rate and enhances the growth rate of the crystal. Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV–visible–NIR studies for the grown crystal reveal that EDTA and H2O2 addition do not affect the crystalline quality. This concept has been realized with barium nitrate Ba(NO3)2, a potential SRS crystal. The complexation also promotes the growth rate leading to a rapid growth with high crystalline quality.