Thermally Evaporated Aerosol OT Thin Films as Templates for the Room Temperature Synthesis of Aragonite Crystals

The growth of calcium carbonate crystals within thermally evaporated aerosol OT (AOT) thin films is described. In situ crystal growth is accomplished by a process of Ca2+ ion entrapment in the AOT host followed by CO3 2- ion reaction. The CaCO3 crystals exhibited almost 100% aragonite crystal struct...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry of materials 2003-07, Vol.15 (14), p.2809-2814
Main Authors: Rautaray, Debabrata, Sainkar, S. R, Sastry, Murali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Exact sciences and technology
Materials science
Methods of crystal growth
physics of crystal growth
Physics
Theory and models of crystal growth
physics of crystal growth, crystal morphology and orientation
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Summary:The growth of calcium carbonate crystals within thermally evaporated aerosol OT (AOT) thin films is described. In situ crystal growth is accomplished by a process of Ca2+ ion entrapment in the AOT host followed by CO3 2- ion reaction. The CaCO3 crystals exhibited almost 100% aragonite crystal structure and were in the form of bundles of aragonite needles. The fact that a similar ion exchange process in thermally evaporated stearic acid films resulted in growth of oriented calcite crystals underlines the role of the lipid matrix in determining the crystal structure of the nucleating phase. Contact angle measurements of the CaCO3−AOT films indicated that they were hydrophobic, thus pointing to the possible role of hydrophobic interaction between the AOT monolayer-covered CaCO3 crystals in the assembly process.
ISSN:0897-4756
1520-5002
DOI:10.1021/cm0342344