Crystallization in zeolite A studied by atomic force microscopy

Crystal growth in zeolite A has been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which is a very powerful technique for imaging nanoscale surface features. However, imaging microcrystallites is far from trivial due to the difficulty in controlling their orientation-surfaces inclined to the horizontal yield distorted images in an AFM. In this study the origin and correction of image distortion is discussed and a general method for sample preparation that can be easily adapted to any microcrystalline powder is detailed. Crystal growth in zeolite A, chosen for its industrial importance, is discussed in detail and is shown to occur via a process akin to a terrace-ledge-kink (TLK) layer mechanism.