Spherical particles design of vanillin via crystallization method: Preparation, characterization and mechanism

Vanillin is a natural flavor and is widely used in the fields of medicine, food and optoelectronics. However, the stable form I of vanillin usually shows needle or fiber-like morphology during crystallization, and it has poor powder performance (flowability, bulk density, dissolution rate, etc.), which further limits its applications. In this work, to improve the powder performances of vanillin, the spherical crystals were designed and prepared via spherical agglomeration method, and the spherical particles were systematically characterized using polarized light microscopy (PLM), particle size instrumentation, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Fourier infrared transform spectroscopy (FTIR). Meanwhile, the effects of BSR (Vbridging liquid:Vsolute), agitation rate and surfactant on the morphology and particle size distribution of spherical particles were analyzed to determine the optimal operating conditions for the spherical crystallization of vanillin as well as its formation mechanism and to improve the powder performance of the products. In addition, the multicomponent spherical particles of vanillin-salicylic acid obtained by crystal co-agglomeration (CCA) meet the formulation requirements in terms of morphology and particle size, which also enhance the dissolution rate of vanillin.