What is a crystal? Recrystallization is a powerful technique

Last updated: 7/11/2022

What is a crystal? Recrystallization is a powerful technique for purification used ubiquitously in organic chemistry. It can allow a chemist to take an amorphous, impure lump of crude product and transform it into a pile of shiny, virtually contaminant-free crystals of the target sample. What are the best ways to grow pure, contaminant-free crystals? Describe the steps of recrystallization from dissolution to nucleation and finally to growth. What is the visual difference between a crystalline, pure sample and an impure crystal? What other physical properties differ between pure and impure solid samples? Write a short essay describing how recrystallization is used in the lab, how best to execute a recrystallization and answering these questions. Please cite and include all sources for your information, including pages from your lab manual/textbook.