A detailed description of the devitrification mechanism of d-mannitol

Abstract

The devitrification mechanism of D-mannitol was carefully investigated using micro calorimetry experiments and Raman spectroscopy, in order to understand the phase transformation of the undercooled liquid into an apparently amorphous state, called phase X. It was found from micro spectroscopy analyses that the formerly assigned “phase X” observed during the devitrification of undercooled D-mannitol results from a surface crystallization accompanied by a very slow bulk crystallization into the α form. Such a phenomenon can be more easily identified by analyzing microscopic samples obtained upon slow heating runs from the glassy state.