A contemporary method to enhance the metastable zone width for crystal growth from solution

A contemporary method has been developed to enhance the metastable zone width of the solutions in their supersaturated region in order to enhance their stability to grow large size crystals with faster cooling rates. In which, the incorporation of a small quantity of ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA), a well-known chelating agent enhances the zone width significantly due to its chelating action. Also, it is observed that this addition reduces the nucleation rate and enhances the growth rate of the crystal appreciably. This method was adopted in some of the popular crystals grown from solutions such as potassium acid phthalate (KAP), potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) and triglycine sulphate (TGS) and confirmed.