Thermodynamics of Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate Growth: Baseline for Understanding Single-crystal Formation

The geometric shape of a crystal can be simulated via a thermodynamic model using breaking bond energy calculations. When this model was applied to the case of the (potassium dihydrogen phosphate) KDP crystal, a thermodynamic description of the KDP crystal growth was successfully developed, which was consistent with experimental observations. Additionally, the effect of surface chemistry on the morphology of the KDP crystal was also investigated using the model based on the surface energy of the KDP crystal. These results confirm that bond making and breaking strongly influence the thermodynamic morphology of the KDP crystal during the crystallization.