Reactivity at Line Defects in Antimony in Etchants with Dextro‐ and Levo Tartaric Acid

The (111) cleavage faces of antimony single crystals were etched in aqueous mixtures of fuming nitric acid plus dextro tartaric acid and fuming nitric acid plus levo tartaric acid. Triangular, crystallographically oriented etch pits were observed at sites of dislocations. The activation energies for lateral motion of ledges and the frequency factors were calculated for both types of etchants which were found to be higher in levo tartaric acid containing etchants than in dextro tartaric acid containing etchants. The results are explained in terms of antimony complexes and the difference in the shape of dextro tartaric acid and levo tartaric acid molecular structures.