Growth Kinetics and Bipyramid-Face Morphology of KDP Crystals

In contrast with the prism faces of KDP crystals, the growth of bipyramid faces is much less sensitive to solution impurities [1–5]. Possibly for this reason they are less studied. Hundreds of articles on the crystallization and properties of KDP crystals have appeared during the 60 years that they have been grown. However, questions concerning the shape of dislocation hillocks, the role of surface diffusion, and the effects of pH and impurities on the kinetic coefficient and linear energy of the steps are still unanswered. In the present work, special attention is paid to the effect of pH on the step kinetics since such studies have not yet been performed.