Crystallization and Precipitation

Name: Edwin
Status: student
Grade: 9-12
Country: United Kingdom

Question: What is the difference between crystallization and

precipitation in purifying impure substance?
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Edwin,

The process at the molecular level is pretty much the same. The molecules
are coming out of solution and forming a solid. The difference -and this is
important as far as purification is concerned- is the speed at which this
transformation happens.

Crystallization usually implies a slower process in which the molecules come

out of solution and form, molecule by molecule, the structure of the crystal.
Precipitation implies a very fast version of the above in which many crystals
form all at once in all parts of the solution.

This difference in speed has several effects, the most important of which is
how well the crystals form and what might be incorporated in it. If the solid
formation is slow (as in crystallization) fewer impurities are included in the
crystal. Since the crystal lattice is very specific as far as shape of the
molecules incorporated, as far as the intermolecular attractions between
molecules, and what may be incorporated where, the slow process allows
exclusion
of molecules that do not quite match up to the requirements of the crystal.
In
precipitation, since the process is very fast, there is a tendency to form
imperfect crystals. Crystals might form around a few molecules or solvent
that -
although not quite matching the crystal requirements- are simply physically
trapped in the fast growing, forming crystal.

Of course, this is a range type of description with full precipitation on one

end and single crystal formation on the other. Many processes fall in
between
these two extreme cases.

Greg (Roberto Gregorius)

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Edwin,

The difference is hard to define because sometimes they are the same thing.
Crystallization is the process by which a dissolved solid or liquid separates
itself from the solvent by forming crystals. In a liquid, the molecules
generally have only very weak bonds between the molecules around them,
so they
are fluid and can move around. A crystal, however, has a more permanent
arrangement between surrounding molecules, hence why it becomes a solid.
Precipitation is also the process of a dissolved solid or liquid separating
itself from the solvent. In the case that you have a dissolved solid in a
solvent, every crystallization is a precipitation, but not every precipitation
is a crystallization. Crystallizations have uniform 3-D structural
arrangements
between the molecules, but there are situations where a solid can precipitate
and not be crystalline. These types of solids are termed amorphous solids
and
can be quite tricky to deal with.

To bring this together with respect to purification, when crystals form, there
is a rigid arrangement of specific molecules and so there is generally no
room
for impurities in the crystal structure. Amorphous solids, however, don't
have
such rigid uniformity and so it is much easier to trap impurities in the solid--
impurities that would have remained dissolved had a crystal formed.

So if you are talking about crystallizing sodium chloride, let's say, the
crystals are cubic in shape and so there is only room for sodium and chloride
ions in a perfect crystal of salt. Most gems are also good examples.
Diamond
is a C7 crystal and when impurities get trapped, cloudy or colored
imperfections
can be seen with the eye or microscope. There is a lot of theory about how
best
to perform a crystallization, but that can get very technical very quickly, so
I will leave that research to you if you would like to know more about it.

Matt Voss
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Basically the difference between crystallization and precipitation is the end
product.  Both are phase changes in which a solid is formed; however,
crystalization produces crystalline solids while precipitation produces
amorphous solids.  Crystalline solids are more highly ordered than
amorphous solids, and so it is generally harder to produce crystals than
precipitates (this is especially true for biologists like me who try to crystalize
proteins).  In general, if you let the phase change occur more slowly (i.e.
supersaturate a solution then let it cool) you will form crystals wheras if you
let the phase change occur rapidly (i.e. mix two solutions and a solid forms
immediately), you will form a precipitate.