Molecular Insights into Crystallization of Minerals: The Case of First-Row Transition Metal Salt Hydrates

How does Nature, the virtuoso chemist, assemble a mineral, an inorganic crystalline compound with a specific composition? How does one account for the directional interactions responsible for the final assembly of a crystal hydrate observed through an X-ray lens? Che­mical insights into the aggregation of molecules resulting into simple salt hydrates still evade experimental and theoretical studies. This article gives a perspective of how Nature dictates the structural landscape of MSO4–H₂O in terms of supramolecular aggregation between the molecular species {M(H₂O)₆}²⁺, SO₄^2- and H₂O interacting at supersaturation through H-bonding and subsequent coordination forces.