Anomalous Size Distribution of Chiral Crystals during Deracemization by Grinding

With the use of a generalized Becker–Döring model, we study the anomalous crystal size distribution (CSD) of chiral crystals during deracemization (chirality conversion) under grinding. Ultrasound grinding yields a large amount of small clusters, and large crystals can grow due to the temporal large supersaturation, which leads to the anomalous spread of the CSD. Glass bead grinding produces crystals of various sizes, and the steady CSD is maintained. The amplification of the crystal enantiomeric excess is realized in both models. Therefore, temporal spread of the CSD observed in experiment is not an essential condition for the deracemization.