Couzis and Ward
are investigating various strategies for the regulation of
crystal nucleation and growth, which is essential for many
processes, from the production of pharmaceuticals to the
formation of biominerals. The Ward group
explores the role of epitaxy in nucleation and growth of
organic crystal polymorphs on organic and inorganic single
crystal substrates, and it has
studied crystal growth on self-assembled monolayers.
The
Couzis group has developed a method for fabrication of
nanometer scale domains that serve as templates for crystal
nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate polymorphs on
solid surfaces by capitalizing on phase segregation of two
immiscible silanes. Couzis and Ward
are now examining the role of chemical composition and size
confinement of these monolayer domains in the
crystallization of organic crystals and crystallization of
calcium oxalate hydrates, the principal ingredient in
kidney stones and a current research emphasis in Ward
group.
SESMI
students will prepare these monolayers, characterize the
phase segregation with AFM, crystallize target materials on
the monolayers, and characterize the crystallization
products using powder X-ray diffraction
