Understanding and Optimising Crystallisation through Flow Technologies

Crystalline materials are everywhere. They are abundant in nature and the environment (e.g. bones and rocks) as well as being used in a diverse range of everyday products including pharmaceuticals, batteries and food. The efficacy and efficiency of these crystalline materials is often related to the crystal structure.
Crystallising in flow environments can allow for a level of control over the resultant material not achievable in standard methods.1 For this reason, flow crystallisation has seen a surge of innovation in the past five years with a range of research lab-accessible milli-scale crystallisers developed.2,3 Overcoming the technological challenges of handling solids in a flow environment and employing varied flow crystallisers we have accessed a range of crystal attributes such as crystalline form (polymorph), particle size and shape control.4,5
The liquid-segmented crystalliser series we have developed spans continuous crystallisation (KRAIC), integrated flow synthesis and crystallisation (KRAIC-I) and in situ analysis – powder X-Ray diffraction (KRAIC-D), single crystal X-Ray diffraction (KRAIC-S) and Raman spectroscopy (KRAIC-R). The series is designed to simultaneously control crystallisation, prevent irreproducibility, and monitor the crystallisation profile, paving the way to understanding and predicting crystallisation.

1. K. Robertson, Chemistry Central Journal (now BMC Chemistry), 2017, 11:4
2. A. J. Alvarez, A. S. Myerson, Crystal Growth and Design, 2010, 10, 2219-2228
3. R. J. P. Eder, S. Schrank, M. O. Besenhard, E. Roblegg, H. Gruber-Woelfler, J. G. Khinast, Crystal Growth and Design, 2012, 12, 4733-4738
4. K. Robertson, A. R. Klapwijk, P.-B. Flandrin, C. C. Wilson, Crystal Growth and Design, 2016, 14, 4759-4764
5. K. Robertson,* P.-B. Flandrin, H. J. Shepherd, C. C. Wilson, Chemistry Today, 2017, 35 (1), 19-22