Zhang, S, Nahi, O, He, X et al. (5 more authors) (2022) Local Heating Transforms Amorphous Calcium Carbonate to Single Crystals with Defined Morphologies. Advanced Functional Materials, 32 (41). 2207019. ISSN 1616-301X
Abstract
The use of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) as a precursor phase affords organisms with outstanding control over the formation of calcite and aragonite biominerals. Essential to this strategy is that the ACC is maintained within confined volumes in the absence of bulk water. This ensures that the ACC undergoes a pseudomorphic transformation and that the organism can independently control nucleation and growth. However, comparable control has proven hard to achieve in synthetic systems. Here, a straightforward method is demonstrated for controlling the crystallization of ACC thin films in which nucleation is first triggered using a heated probe, and then growth is sustained by incubating the film at a lower temperature. By independently controlling nucleation and growth, sub-millimeter calcite single crystals can be generated when and where it is desired, morphologies ranging from discs to squares to serpentine strips can be created, and arrays of crystals formed. The mechanism and energetics of crystallization of the ACC are studied using in situ transmission electron microscopy and continuity between the ACC and calcite at the growth front is demonstrated. It is envisaged that this method can be applied to the formation of large single crystals of alternative functional materials that form via amorphous precursor phases.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Advanced Functional Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | bio-inspired; calcites; crystallization; nonclassical crystallization; polymorphs; solid-state transitions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Inorganic Chemistry (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Leeds) > Pollard Institute (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Mechanical Engineering (Leeds) > Institute of Engineering Thermofluids, Surfaces & Interfaces (iETSI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/R018820/1 EU - European Union 788968 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Aug 2022 10:23 |
Last Modified: | 25 Jun 2023 23:04 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/adfm.202207019 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:189945 |