Laser-Induced Crystal Growth and Morphology Control of Benzopinacol Produced from Benzophenone in Ethanol/Water Mixed Solution

Abstract

Laser-induced precipitation and crystal growth were observed by an irradiation of benzophenone in an ethanol and water mixed solvent. The crystal was composed of benzopinacol produced from excited benzophenone through a benzophenone ketyl radical. Polyhedral, skeletal, and dendrite morphologies of benzopinacol were controlled by laser energy. This is the first example of a photochemical morphology control of a crystal.

Femtosecond laser-induced nucleation of protein in agarose gel

“…They conjectured that the optical Kerr effect aligned the molecules within urea and glycine clusters, leading to the nucleation. Okutsu and co-workers [6][7][8][9][10][11] also demonstrated light-induced nucleation by a photochemical method. Irradiation by ultraviolet (UV) light produced radicals of aromatic compounds, which could act as nucleation sites for crystallization.…”

Influence of energy and wavelength on femtosecond laser-induced nucleation of protein

“…To date, light-induced nucleation has been demonstrated by optical Kerr effect [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8], photon pressure [9,10], and photochemical reactions [11][12][13][14][15][16]. As another approach, we have proposed the focused irradiation of a femtosecond laser [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], whose peak intensity is $TW/cm 2 .…”

Enhancement of femtosecond laser-induced nucleation of protein in a gel solution

“…To date, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated lightinduced nucleation by photo-physical 1-5 and chemical [6][7][8] methods. A femtosecond laser ͑peak intensity ϳgigawatts͒ is one of the promising techniques to induce nucleation at low supersaturation, which will improve crystal quality.…”