The crystallization of many minerals from solution has been shown to involve disordered precursors that agglomerate into an amorphous intermediate phase, a pathway that seems to contradict classical nucleation theory. It is now found that the crystallization of magnetite—a magnetic iron oxide with many bio- and nanotechnological applications—occurs classically from the accretion of precursors in the absence of amorphous intermediates.
- Jens Baumgartner
- Archan Dey
- Damien Faivre
