Abstract: This paper describes the influence of tartrate ions on the crystal growth and morphology of antimony white(Sb₂O₃), which was characterized by XRD, IRand SEM. The relationship between the orientation of tartrate ions and the morphology of Sb₂O₃ was studied from the standpoint of crystal chemistry, and the formation mechanism of Sb₂O₃ with different morphologies was analyzed according to the theoretical model of the growth units with coordinative polyhedron structure of anion. It revealed that the products transformed from the orthombic Sb₂O₃ to the cubic Sb₂O₃ due to the molecular recognition of tartrate anion with a strong coordination ability, which changed the original growth unit of SbO₃Ecoordinative tetrahedron into the growth unit of SbO ³⁺³Estellar quadrangle.

Key words: Antimony white(Sb₂O₃), Template effect, Molecular recoginition, Anion coordinative polyhedron, Growth unit