Meet Zangenite: A brand-new crystal structure, unlike anything seen before

Crystals might look simple, but their growth tells a far more complex and fascinating story. From grains of salt to diamonds, crystals form when particles lock into repeating patterns. For many years, scientists thought crystals always grew one building block at a time in a straight-forward path. But now, thanks to recent research, scientists know that’s not always true.

A team of researchers from New York University closely studied how crystals grow from tiny charged particles called colloids. Their work reveals a surprising two-step process that challenges classical theories. They also discovered a brand-new crystal structure, unlike anything seen before. These findings open new paths in material science, from future technologies to better ways to filter materials.

Most crystals are made up of atoms that are far too small and fast to track under a microscope. To get a better view, researchers use colloids—tiny spheres that act like atoms but are big enough to see with special equipment. These colloidal particles move more slowly, giving scientists a chance to watch each stage of crystal growth as it happens.

“The advantage of studying colloidal particles is that we can observe crystallization processes at a single-particle level,” explained chemistry professor Stefano Sacanna. “With colloids, we can watch crystals form with our microscope.”

This method gave these researchers clearer look at the full life cycle of a crystal. They could see how disordered particles gradually shift into ordered forms. The team ran careful lab experiments and also performed thousands of computer simulations to help explain the patterns they saw.

One of the most important discoveries in this study is that crystals don’t just grow particle by particle. Instead, they form through a two-step process. First, a cloud of disorganized blobs—called a metastable phase—condenses from a gas-like suspension. These blobs are made up of charged particles that haven’t yet lined up into a regular pattern.

Then, over time, these blobs evolve. They become small crystals with ordered structures. From there, the small crystals grow into large, smooth-faced structures. This happens through three main actions: individual particles join in, blobs get pulled in and absorbed, and other small crystals attach in the same direction and stick.

This kind of behavior had never been fully tracked at the particle level until now. It shows how crystallization can take many paths, not just one. Different pathways, controlled by the strength of particle interactions and the size of the particles, lead to different types and shapes of crystals.

The team also discovered they could adjust the growth process using small changes in salt concentration. Using a new approach called continuous dialysis, they changed how particles interacted over time and space. This gave them control over the entire process, helping them create and study multiple kinds of crystal structures within a single experiment.

During the experiments, PhD student Shihao Zang noticed something odd. He saw a rod-shaped crystal that looked familiar, but something was off. The particles inside this crystal didn’t match others the team had seen before. Even more unusual were the tips, which had hollow channels running through them.

Zang compared this mystery structure with over a thousand known crystals from the natural world. Still, he couldn’t find a match. “We study colloidal crystals to mimic the real world of atomic crystals,” said Zang, “but we never imagined that we would discover a crystal that we cannot find in the real world.”

To solve the puzzle, the team turned to Glen Hocky, an expert in computer modeling. His simulations recreated the same odd crystal, confirming that it wasn’t just a lab mistake. “This was puzzling because usually crystals are dense, but this one had empty channels that ran the length of the crystal,” said Hocky.

The team gave the new structure the technical name L3S4, based on its particle composition. But at lab meetings, they started calling it “Zangenite” in honor of Zang, who found it. That nickname stuck.

“Through this synergy of experiments and simulation, we realized that this crystal structure had never been observed before,” added Sacanna.

The hollow shape of Zangenite makes it special. Crystals usually pack tightly, but Zangenite breaks that rule. It has inner channels that run all the way through. Those gaps make it lighter and less dense than typical crystals.

This feature could have valuable uses. “The channels inside Zangenite are analogous to features in other materials that are useful for filtering or enclosing things inside them,” Hocky said. These types of structures can trap other particles or allow fluids to flow through, much like filters or sponges. They might someday help scientists design new tools for purifying water, storing gases, or delivering medicine.

“Before, we thought it would be rare to observe a new crystal structure,” said Sacanna. “But we may be able to discover additional new structures that haven’t yet been characterized.” Their ability to control particle interaction strength also allowed them to grow unusual composite crystals on surfaces—a process known as heteroepitaxy. This method helped them create new combinations of materials that could serve future technologies.

The wide range of shapes, sizes, and structures found in the lab proves just how rich and varied the world of crystals really is. This deeper look into crystal formation shows that the paths from disorder to order can be far more creative than once thought.

This study does more than just change how scientists think about crystals. It opens the door for making new materials with unusual properties. Understanding how crystals grow could help in developing photonic bandgap materials. These materials are key to controlling light and are used in lasers, solar panels, and fiber-optic cables.

Crystals may seem still and silent, but inside them, a world of motion, transformation, and discovery continues to grow. And with every new structure uncovered—like Zangenite—that world only gets more fascinating.

Research findings are available online in the journal Nature Communications.

Note: The article above provided above by The Brighter Side of News.

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