A Review of Laser-Induced Crystallization from Solution

Crystallization abounds in nature and industrial practice. A plethora of indispensable products ranging from agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals to battery materials are produced in crystalline form in industrial practice. Yet, our control over the crystallization process across scales, from molecular to macroscopic, is far from complete. This bottleneck not only hinders our ability to engineer the properties of crystalline products essential for maintaining our quality of life but also hampers progress toward a sustainable circular economy in resource recovery. In recent years, approaches leveraging light fields have emerged as promising alternatives to manipulate crystallization. In this review article, we classify laser-induced crystallization approaches where light-material interactions are utilized to influence crystallization phenomena according to proposed underlying mechanisms and experimental setups. We discuss nonphotochemical laser-induced nucleation, high-intensity laser-induced nucleation, laser trapping-induced crystallization, and indirect methods in detail. Throughout the review, we highlight connections among these separately evolving subfields to encourage the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas.

Automated summary

Crystallization is widely present in nature and industrial practices, but our control over the process is incomplete. This limits our ability to engineer crystalline products and hinders progress towards a sustainable circular economy. Laser-induced crystallization approaches show promise in manipulating crystallization using light-material interactions. In this review, we discuss various mechanisms and experimental setups for laser-induced nucleation and crystallization, emphasizing interdisciplinary exchange of ideas.