Crystallization from solutions often starts in such a way that thermodynamically unstable phases appear first followed by recrystallization to thermodynamically stable phases. This empirical observation, called as Ostwald's rule of stages, is explamed here on the basis of structure changes of solutions. Experiments supporting this explanation have been carried out with aqueous solutions of citric acid, sodium hydrogen phosphate and ferrous sulphate, respectively.
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Jaroslav Nývlt (1995) studied this question.
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