Published in Chemical Science, my research has uncovered new details about how salt crystals form in tiny nanometer-sized ...

As the attractions from the water molecules and their motion pulls the ions apart, the sodium chloride crystal dissolves. The positive areas of the water molecules surround the negative Chloride ions.

These charged components are arranged in crystals of salt in a regular repeating pattern. Each sodium ion is surrounded by six chloride ions and each chloride ion is surrounded by six sodium ions.