Adding seed crystals to a crystallization system has typically resulted in increased "crystallizationâ rates. The enhanced rate might be due to simply increasing the rate at which solute is integrated into the solid phase from solution due to the increased available surface area, but also might be the result of enhanced nucleation of new crystals. Understanding the precise role of seed crystals is an area of ongoing investigation.
The secondary nucleation mechanism referred to as initial breeding results from microcrystalline dust being washed off of seed crystal surfaces in a new synthesis batch, and has been reported in zeolite systems. [15] These microcrystalline fragments grow to observable sizes, and result in greatly enhanced Îcrystallizationâ rates due to the significantly increased crystal surface area compared to the unseeded system. Consequently, it is to be expected that addition of seed crystals to a synthesis system will introduce sub-micron sized crystallites into the system which will serve as nuclei.
Finally, it is worth noting that a recent study of initial bred nuclei using a clear synthesis solution [16] suggested that the initial bred nuclei themselves may be the same nanoparticles observed by Schoeman [8], Kirschhock, et al. [9], and independently elsewhere. [17]. That is, the same particulates which appear to catalyze zeolite nucleation in unseeded systems may remain in sufficient number to catalyze nucleation in seeded systems, since they are inherently present with the seed crystal sample, and may be impossible to eliminate by typical filtration techniques.