Elucidation of the crystal growth mechanism of melamine-cyanuric acid by using real time in situatomic force microscopy

Abstract

Real time in situatomic force microscopy in aqueous media of melamine–cyanuric acid crystals, grown by hydrothermal methods, permitted unambiguous assignment of the crystal growth modes at the microscopic level, revealing that hydrophobic interactions between two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded planar sheets play a dominant role in the crystal growth of this material, which has been shown to cause renal failure.