A systematic study of the isothermal crystallization of the mono-alcohol n-butanol monitored by dielectric spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study investigates the isothermal crystallization of n-butanol using dielectric spectroscopy, revealing how different sample environments influence crystallization behavior and crystal growth morphology.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analysis of how sample cell environments affect the crystallization process and morphology of n-butanol, using dielectric spectroscopy and kinetic models.

Findings

Crystallization causes relaxation times to shift to shorter durations.

Different sample cells lead to distinct crystallization behaviors.

A transition in crystal growth morphology occurs during crystallization.

Abstract

Isothermal crystallization of the mono-hydroxyl alcohol n-butanol was studied with dielectric spectroscopy in real time. The crystallization was carried out using two different sample cells at 15 temperatures between 120 K and 134 K. For all temperatures, a shift in relaxation times to shorter times was observed during the crystallization process, which is characterized by a drop in relaxation strength. The two different sample environments induced quite different crystallization behaviors, consistent and reproducible over all studied temperatures. An explanation for the difference was proposed on the background of an Avrami and a Maxwell-Wagner analysis. Both types analysis suggest that the morphology of the crystal growth changes at a point during the crystallization. The differences between the cells can be explained by this transition taking place at different times for the two cells.