INDEX

PAGE 1. Abstract 2. Objective 3. Introduction 4. Materials and Equipment 5. Experimental Procedure 6. Observation 7. Inference 8. Result 9. Bibliography 4 1 1 1 4

WHY I CHOSE THIS PROJECT?: Crystals and crystallization find applications in various places. There are two major groups of applications for the artificial crystallization process: crystal production and purification. Crystal production From a material industry perspective: Macroscopic crystal production: for supply the demand of natural-like crystals with methods that "accelerate timescale" for massive production and/or perfection. Ionic crystal production; Covalent crystal production.

Tiny size crystals: Powder, sand and smaller sizes: using methods for powder and controlled (nanotechnology fruits) forms. Mass-production: on chemical industry, like saltpowder production.

Sample production: small production of tiny crystals for material characterization. Controlled recrystallization is an important method to supply unusual crystals, that are needed to reveal the molecular structure and nuclear forces inside a typical molecule of a crystal. Many techniques, like X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, are widely used in chemistry and biochemistry to determine the structures of an immense variety of molecules, including inorganic compounds and bio-macromolecules.

Thin film production.

Massive production examples: "Powder salt for food" industry; Silicon crystal wafer production. Production of sucrose from sugar beet, where the sucrose is crystallized out from an aqueous solution.

Abstract Crystals come in all different shapes and sizes. However, the purest and cleanest crystals are usually also the ones that grow to be the largest in size. This project is concerned to discover the best recrystallization method for growing large, pure crystals. Objective To find ideal conditions for proper crystal growth. Introduction Chemists perform chemical reactions as a way to change one thing into something different. For example, when you leave your bike out in the rain, you might notice that the shiny metal turns reddish-brown. This happens because rust forms through a chemical reaction between the metal and the oxygen in the air. Sometimes, chemical reactions form more than one product, though, and chemists need a way to separate and remove the product they want from all of the other material. One way they do this is with a process called recrystallization. The scientist dissolves the mixture of products in hot water, and then lets the mixture cool. As the mixture cools, the desired product slowly appears as crystals, which can then be removed from the rest of the liquid. Why do you think the crystals appear when the solution is cooled? It has to do with the fact that every solid that can be dissolved in water has a solubility, which means the largest quantity of the solid that can be dissolved in the water to make a clear solution.

When the water starts getting cloudy and you can see solid particles floating around that means no more solid can dissolve into the water and the solution (water and solid mixture) is saturated. But, the solubility of most solids increases as the mixture is heated, so more of the solid can be dissolved in hot water than in cold water. For instance, imagine you are making a cup of teayou might notice that you can dissolve more sugar in hot tea than in iced tea. Give it a try and you'll probably see sugar crystals at the bottom of the iced tea glass, even after you've stirred it. When a hot saturated solution is cooled, however, there is suddenly more solid in the solution than can normally be contained by the cooler water. Because it can no longer stay dissolved in the water, some of the bits of solid fall out of the solution. As they do this, they bump into each other, stick together, and form larger and larger pieces, called crystals. A crystal is a solid made of molecules (tiny little pieces too small to even be seen by most microscopes) that have come together in a specific repeated pattern, like in Figure 1, below. Going back to the tea example, if you made a saturated solution of hot tea and sugar and then let it cool, under the right conditions, you'd be able to see small sugar crystals forming.

When

the

molecules

of

the

crystal

come

together, impurities (which are the unwanted products of the chemical reaction) do not fit into the structure, much like the wrong piece of a puzzle doesn't fit. So, if the crystal forms slowly enough, the impurities will be rejected because they do not fit correctly, and instead, remain in the solution and float away. But if a solution is cooled too quickly, there isn't time to reject the impurities and instead, they become trapped in the crystal structure and the pattern is disturbed. Do you think crystals that are cooled quickly will look different than those that are cooled slowly? Think about the effect that the speed of cooling might have on crystal size and clarity. Materials and Equipment

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Large bowl Water Thermometer String Scissors Pencils (3) Identical jars or large drinking glasses (3) Tablespoon Gloves, latex or similar style exam glove (optional). Can be used if there is concern over handling crystals.

Experimental Procedure 1. NaCl crystals: Table salt or sodium chloride crystals are great crystals to try if you've never grown crystals before because it's easy to find salt and water (the ingredients), the crystals are non-toxic, and no special equipment is required. Steps: 1. Stir salt into boiling hot water until no more salt will dissolve (crystals start to appear at the bottom of the container). Be sure the water is as close to boiling as possible. Hot tap water is not sufficient for making the solution. 2. If you want crystals quickly, you can soak a piece of cardboard in this supersaturated salt solution. Once it is soggy, place it on a plate or pan and set it in a warm and

sunny location to dry out. Numerous small salt crystals will form. 3. If you are trying to form a larger, perfect cubic crystal, you will want to make a seed crystal. 4. To grow a big crystal from a seed crystal, carefully pour the supersaturated salt solution into a clean container (so no undissolved salt gets in), allow the solution to cool, then hang the seed crystal in the solution from a pencil or knife placed across the top of the container. You could cover the container with a coffee filter if you like. 5. Set the container in a location where it can remain undisturbed. You are more likely to get a perfect crystal instead of a mass of crystals if you allow the crystal to grow slowly (cooler temperature, shaded location) in a place free of vibrations. Note: To get the 'perfect crystal' use uniodized salt and distilled water. Impurities in either the salt or water can aid dislocation, where new crystals don't stack perfectly on top of previous crystals. What You Need
y y y y

table salt - sodium chloride water clean clear container piece of cardboard (optional)

string and pencil or butter knife (optional)

2. Sugar (Rock Candy) crystals: Sugar crystals are also known as rock candy since the crystallized sucrose (table sugar) resembles rock crystals and because you can eat your finished product. You can grow beautiful clear sugar crystals with sugar and water or you can add food coloring to get colored crystals. Steps: 1. Gather your materials. 2. You may wish to grow a seed crystal, a small crystal to weight your string and provide a surface for larger crystals to grow onto. A seed crystal is not necessary as long as you are using a rough string or yarn. 3. Tie the string to a pencil or butter knife. If you have made a seed crystal, tie it to the bottom of the string. Set the pencil or knife across the top of the glass jar and make sure that the string will hang into the jar without touching its sides or bottom. However, you want the string to hang nearly to the bottom. Adjust the length of the string, if necessary. 4. Boil the water. If you boil your water in the microwave, be very careful removing it to avoid getting splashed! 5. Stir in the sugar, a teaspoonful at a time. Keep adding sugar until it starts to accumulate at the bottom of the container and won't dissolve even with more stirring. This means your

sugar solution is saturated. If you don't use a saturated solution, then your crystals won't grow quickly. On the other hand, if you add too much sugar, new crystals will grow on the undissolved sugar and not on your string. 6. If you want colored crystals, stir in a few drops of food coloring. 7. Pour your solution into the clear glass jar. If you have undissolved sugar at the bottom of your container, avoid getting it in the jar. 8. Place the pencil over the jar and allow the string to dangle into the liquid. 9. Set the jar somewhere where it can remain undisturbed. If you like, you can set a coffee filter or paper towel over the jar to prevent dust from falling into the jar. 10. Check on your crystals after a day. You should be able

to see the beginnings of crystal growth on the string or seed crytal. 11. Let the crystals grow until they have reached the

desired size or have stopped growing. At this point, you can pull out the string and allow the crystal to dry. What You Need
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1 cup water 3 cups table sugar (sucrose) clean glass jar

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pencil or butter knife string pan or bowl for boiling water and making solution spoon or stirring rod

3. Copper Sulphate (CuS04) crystals: Geodes are a type of rock containing crystals. Normally, millions of years are required for flowing water and minerals to deposit crystals. You can make your own 'geode' in only a few days. Grow beautiful translucent blue crystals of copper sulfate pentahydrate inside a container to make your own geode. Steps: 1. A natural geode forms inside a mineral. For this project, the mineral is the calcium carbonate of an container. 2. In a separate container, add copper sulfate to 1/4 cup of hot water. The amount of copper sulfate isn't exact. You want to stir copper sulfate into the water until no more will dissolve. More is not better! It should take a few pinches of solid material to make a saturated solution. 3. Pour the copper sulfate solution into the container. 4. Place the container in a location where it can remain undisturbed for 2-3 days. You may want to place the container in another container to keep it from falling over.

5. Observe your geode each day. Crystals should appear by the end of the first day and will be at their best after the second or third day. 6. You can pour out the solution and allow your geode to dry after a couple of days or you can let the solution fully evaporate (week or two). Precautions: 1. Even a small increase in the temperature of the water will greatly affect the amount of copper sulfate (CuS04 . 5H20) that will dissolve. 2. Copper sulfate is harmful if swallowed and can irritate skin and mucous membranes. In case of contact, rinse skin with water. If swallowed, give water and call a physician. 3. Copper sulfate pentahydrate crystals contain water, so if you want to store your finished geode, keep it in a sealed container. Otherwise water will evaporate from the crystals, leaving them dull and powdery. The gray or greenish powder is the anhydrous form of copper sulfate. 4. The archaic name for copper (II) sulfate is blue vitriol. 5. Copper sulfate is used in copper plating, blood tests for anemia, in algicides and fungicides, in textile manufacturing, and as a dessicant. What You Need
y

A container

y y

hot water copper sulfate

4. NiS04 crystals: Alum is found in the 'spices' section of the grocery store. With a bit of time and effort, you can grow a big alum crystal. Steps: 1. Pour 1/2 cup of hot tap water into a clean jar. 2. Slowly stir in alum, a little at a time, until it stops dissolving. Don't add the whole amount - just enough to saturate the water. 3. Loosely cover the jar with a coffee filter or paper towel (to keep dust out) and allow the jar to sit undisturbed overnight. 4. The next day, pour the alum solution from the first jar into the clean jar. You will see small alum crystals at the bottom of the jar. These are 'seed' crystals that you will use to grow a big crystal. 5. Tie nylon fishing line around the largest, best-shaped crystal. Tie the other end to a flat object (e.g., popsicle stick, ruler, pencil, butter knife). You will hang the seed crystal by this flat object into the jar far enough so that it will be covered in liquid, but won't touch the bottom or sides of the jar. It may take a few tries to get the length just right.

6. When you have the right string length, hang the seed crystal in the jar with the alum solution. Cover it with the coffee filter and grow a crystal! 7. Grow your crystal until you are satisfied with it. If you see crystals starting to grow on the sides or bottom of your jar, carefully remove your crystal, pour the liquid into the clean jar, and put the crystal in the new jar. Other crystals in the jar will compete with your crystal for alum, so it won't be able to get as big if you let these crystals grow. Note: 1. You can use sewing thread or other string instead of nylon fishing line, but crystals will grow on the entire length of the submerged string. Crystals don't adhere to nylon, so if you use it, you can get bigger, better crystals. 2. Alum is an ingredient used to make pickles. It makes them crispy. What You Need
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1/2 c hot tap water 2-1/2 T alum nylon fishing line pencil, ruler, or knife 2 clean jars spoon

coffee filter/paper towel

RESULT: Hence, we have studied and learnt to grow the crystals under the best conditions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: y www.wikipedia.org y http://chemistry.about.com y www.sciencebuddies.com y NCERT-Chemistry