The precipitation of alkaline-earth metal molybdate powders from aqueous solution. Crystal numbers,final morphology and sizes

The precipitation of barium, strontium and calcium molybdates was studied from neutral equivalent solutions of concentrations from 0.0004 to 0.4 M at 25 °C. Crystal growth started after induction periods; the precipitiations were heterogeneously nucleated at low supersaturations and homogeneously nucleated at medium to high supersaturations. Barium molybdate was precipitated as tetragonal bipyramids, strontium molybdate generally as prisms and calcium molybdate as platelets. Crystal numbers at medium to high supersaturations increased with increasing inital metal molybdate concentrations according to the relation, The final crystal lengths in this range than decreased from maximum values (at the critical concentrations) with increasing initial metal molybdate concentrations according to the relation. Generally, for precipitation from solutions at any concentration, larger crystals were obtained in the precipitates of the salt of higher solubility.