From the delicate patterns of snowflakes to the robust structure of diamonds, crystals are all around us. For a long time, scientists believed their growth followed a predictable path. But now, ...

These crystals of lead iodide formed from a mixture of lead nitrate and potassium iodide. Yiping Zhang, of Xiamen University prepared the fine, flaky crystals by mixing the reagents in boiling water ...

A crystals expert has published an answer to how crystals are formed and how molecules become a part of them, solving an age-old mystery about crystal formation. A million years ago, the oldest known ...

A recent theory challenges conventional understanding of crystallization. It shows that the dominant element in a solution—the solvent, not the solute—is the material that crystallizes. This finding, ...

Coordination chemistry explores the formation, structure, and function of complexes formed by transition metals and various ligands. This field not only provides fundamental insights into bonding and ...

Two novel techniques, atomic-resolution real-time video and conical carbon nanotube confinement, allow researchers to view never-before-seen details about crystal formation. The observations confirm ...

Crystals -- from sugar and table salt to snowflakes and diamonds -- don't always grow in a straightforward way. Researchers have now captured this journey from amorphous blob to orderly structures. In ...

Remember that old high school chemistry experiment where salt crystals precipitate out of a saltwater solution – or maybe the one where rock candy crystals form from sugar water? It turns out that ...