Morphological evolution of inorganic crystal into zigzag and helical architectures with an exquisite association of polymer: A novel approach for morphological complexity

The morphology of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) crystals grown in a viscous polymer solution of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was remarkably changed from the tilted columnar assembly into zigzag and helical architectures with increasing PAA concentration. The habit modification of orthorhombic K ₂SO₄ with adsorption of PAA molecules on a specified crystal face fundamentally led to the formation of tilted unit crystals. Concurrently with the habit modification, a diffusion-limited condition controlling the assembly of tilted units was achieved in the presence of PAA molecules in the matrix. Various complex morphologies, including zigzag and helical assembly, emerged through the formation of twinned crystals with the variation of the diffusion condition. Understanding the morphogenesis observed in this report would provide a novel approach for sophisticated crystal design by using an exquisite association of organic and inorganic materials.