Crystal Growth for Beginners. Fundamentals of Nucleation, Crystal Growth and Epitaxy , 3rd edition . Edited by Ivan V Markov. World Scientific, 2017. Pp. 632. Hardback. Price GBP 123.00. ISBN 978‐981‐3143‐42‐5

Crystal growth is a classical discipline lying at the interfaces of Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science and Medicine. The research field has enjoyed an increasing number of young investigators over the past couple of decades, largely due to the burgeoning fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology which aim to fabricate nano-devices and/or to deliver nano-medicines in a process that mimics the exquisite wisdom of biologically controlled crystals. The interdisciplinary nature of these fields has posed a request for introductory monographs on the fundamental concepts of crystallization that are suitable for the diverse scientific backgrounds of young researchers. Among many of the introductory crystal growth books, the Crystal Growth for Beginners (3rd edition) by Ivan Markov is an excellent one that can serve the purpose and is worth reading. The book is well organized and is pedagogical. By discussing crystallization in pure systems, the author introduces and describes the important concepts, physical parameters and theoretical models pertaining to nucleation and growth of crystals. The book contains five chapters over 600 pages. The chapters are 1. Crystal-Ambient Phase Equilibrium, 2. Nucleation, 3. Crystal Growth, 4. Epitaxial Growth and 5. The Shoulder on Which we Stand. The current edition builds on the author’s previous edition of the book with the exact same book title (Markov, 2003). The first four chapters are similar with the current version including some minor additions of topics and figures. Chapter 5 is completely new. In the first chapter, the concept of crystal formation from phase equilibrium is introduced and the importance of chemical potential in crystallization is addressed. Through the microscopic view of one-component systems, the fundamental concepts, kinetics and thermodynamics of kinks, steps, flat surfaces, rough surfaces and equilibrium crystal shapes are discussed. In addition, the derivation of the impactful pure thermodynamic Thomson–Gibbs equation (p. 12) by Stranski and Kaischew utilizing a kinetic approach is elegantly presented (p. 45). The thermodynamics and kinetics of nucleation via a classical pathway are addressed in the second chapter. The organization of the chapter is excellent, which makes it easy for beginners to grasp the important underlying physics involved in nucleation. For thermodynamics, homogenous and heterogenous nucleation of three-dimensional (3D) nuclei are discussed, followed by the presentation of nucleation of two-dimensional (2D) nuclei on a foreign substrate. For kinetics, the rate of nucleation is fully described. In this section, the author started the topic by first showing the general expression of the steady state rate of nucleation through a well-designed derivation with the assumptions of the model clearly delineated (pp. 105–107). Based on this expression, the rates of nucleation from homogeneous, heterogeneous, 3D and 2D in solutions and melts are developed. Furthermore, the atomistic theory of heterogeneous nucleation (pp. 129–143) is also described in detail. Readers with an interest in thin film deposition may find this section useful. This chapter is closed with a description of Ostwald’s step rule. The third chapter is devoted to the concept of crystal growth. In the first half of the chapter, important physical parameters involved in crystal growth, such as growth rate, kinetic coefficient, critical length and their relationships to supersaturation are presented. They are described and discussed in great deal through the growth from different sources, ISSN 2052-5206