Study of Recrystallization Kinetics of AgBr Microcrystals in Water–Gelatin Gel

Recrystallization kinetics (Ostwald ripening) of silver bromide microcrystals in gelatin gel was studied. The study was made on model mixtures containing small silver bromide particles (about 60 nm) and larger microcrystals of different sizes (100–400 nm) and habits (cubic and octahedral). Variations in the average size of large crystals in the system were controlled by spectral turbidimetry. The growth rate of the large crystals was found to be directly proportional to the total solubility of a substance constituting the dispersed phase, as well as to difference in sizes of large and small particles. The kinetics of large crystal growth was also shown significantly to depend on the average distance between particles of the system. The theoretical model describing mass transfer during the Ostwald ripening in the closed disperse system was proposed, providing that interacting particles are immovable.