An In-Situ Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Tomography Study of Crystallization and Preferred Crystal Orientation in a Stirred Reactor

A new tomographic technique, based on synchrotron X-ray diffraction, has been used to chart polymorphic content and crystallite alignment inside a model pharmaceutical reactor. This reveals complex behavior according to crystallite shape/size characteristics; in particular, stirring induces pronounced crystal zonation marked by a boundary “alignment band” in which the crystallites adopt a “stand on edge” orientation.