Abstract:
The surfaces of pure triacylglycerol (TAG)
crystals of polymorphic type beta (16.16.16) and beta' (16.18.16) are studied
ex situ using atomic force microscopy. Molecular contrast images show no
reconstructed surfaces. On both types of TAG crystals, the overall 3D morphology
is reflected in the shape of the monomolecular step patterns on the large
{0 0 1} faces. The shape of the observed two-dimensional (2D) nuclei and
growth spirals on these faces can be explained by a combination of a 2D
Hartman-Perdok analysis based on the topology of the crystallographic surface
structure, and the theory of Burton. Cabrera and Frank. This method shows
that steps having high bonding energies sometimes give rise to high kink
densities, which may explain their absence on the morphology. For the beta
polymorph, extended sub-steps with half the molecular height were found,
which are related to planar faults in the crystal and do not act as growth
source. Melt grown beta' crystals sometimes show vicinal {1 0 1} faces,
which indicates a strong interaction between closely separated steps. (C)
2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.