Polymorphic transformation of the Γ-form of d-sorbitol upon milling: structural and nanostructural analyses

In this paper, we study the structural, nanostructural and thermodynamic evolutions of crystalline Γ-sorbitol upon mechanical milling. The investigations have been performed by powder X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The results clearly show that the evolution upon milling can be divided in two stages. The first one only reveals micro and nanostructural modifications of the crystallites appearing through a size reduction, deformations, and changes of shape. On the other hand, the second stage reveals a complete structural transformation of the Γ-form of sorbitol towards the metastable A-form of sorbitol. Special attention has been paid to the nanostructural features derived from the first stage, which trigger the ultimate structural transformation.