In situ investigation of complex BaSO4 fiber generation in the presence of sodium polyacrylate. 2. Crystallization mechanisms

Nonclassical Pathway to Biomimetic Strained SrSO4 Crystals

Biomimetic strained SrSO4 crystals were produced through a nonclassical pathway involving fiber-by-fiber accumulation with poly(acrylic acid) in an aqueous solution system. Polymer-stabilized fibrous hydrate crystals 20–40 nm wide and several...

The many roles of mellitic acid during barium sulfate crystallization

The various roles of mellitic acid during barium sulfate crystallization from nucleation to mesocrystal formation are explored and elucidated.

Formation and Structure of Calcium Carbonate Thin Films and Nanofibers Precipitated in the Presence of Poly(Allylamine Hydrochloride) and Magnesium Ions

That the cationic polyelectrolyte poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) exerts a significant influence on CaCO3 precipitation challenges the idea that only anionic additives have this effect. Here, we show that in common with anionic polyelectrolytes such as poly(aspartic acid), PAH supports the growth of calcite thin films and abundant nanofibers. While investigating the formation of these structures, we also perform the first detailed structural analysis of the nanofibers by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction. The nanofibers are shown to be principally single crystal, with isolated domains of polycrystallinity, and the single crystal structure is even preserved in regions where the nanofibers dramatically change direction. The formation mechanism of the fibers, which are often hundreds of micrometers long, has been the subject of intense speculation. Our results suggest that they form by aggregation of amorphous particles, which are incorporated into the fibers uniquely at their tips, before crystallizing. Extrusion of polymer during crystallization may inhibit particle addition at the fiber walls and result in local variations in the fiber nanostructure. Finally, we investigate the influence of Mg2+ on CaCO3 precipitation in the presence of PAH, which gives thinner and smoother films, together with fibers with more polycrystalline, granular structures.

Copper-ion-assisted self-assembly of silicate clays in rod- and disklike morphologies

Self-assembled rodlike (0.3-2.5 microm in diameter and 5.3-31 microm in length) and disklike microstructures (1.8-10.6 microm in width and 0.1-1.0 microm in thickness) are uniquely present in amorphous clay aggregates. Clay units were prepared by intercalation of Na(+)-montmorillonite (Na(+)-MMT) with copper ions (Cu(2+)) and poly(oxypropylene)-amine salt (POP) in simultaneous or stepwise ionic exchange reactions. Differences in process control during incorporation of Cu(2+) and hydrophobic POP greatly affected the layer structure of the clay units (d spacing of 12-53 A) and consequently their amphiphilic dispersion properties. By controlling the dispersion in water and drying at 80 degrees C, highly ordered self-assembly structures were obtained, presumably as a result of self-piling of clay units in competing vertical and horizontal directions. In general, association with Cu(2+) yielded units with a disklike microstructure, in contrast to the rod-like structure obtained for POP-intercalated clay. The self-assembled structures were characterized using X-ray diffraction, UV adsorption, thermal gravimetric analysis, zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques. Control of the clay self-piling process provides a new synthetic route for the fabrication of bottom-up microstructures that are potentially useful for templates, sensors, and electronic devices.

Hierarchically nanostructured barium sulfate fibers

BaSO(4) nanostructures with controlled morphologies were successfully produced via one-step process through precipitation of BaSO(4) in aqueous and organic media. The synthesis is carried out by mixing solutions of BaCl(2) and Na(2)SO(4) in presence of EDTA (disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) at room temperature. The influence of the reaction conditions such as initial reactants concentration, pH, EDTA/[Ba(2+)] ratio and aging on the BaSO(4) nanoparticles organization is studied. Using EDTA in aqueous media, spherical secondary particles of 500 nm diameter are obtained, which are formed by 4 nm size primary particles. With dimethyl sulfoxide and small amounts of water (5%) and EDTA, the aging process allows the production of long homogeneous fibers, related to hierarchical organization of BaSO(4) nanoparticles. Direct observation of self-assembling of primary particles by HRTEM allows proposing a mechanism for fiber formation, which is based on multipolar attractions that lead to a brick-by-brick organization along a preferential orientation. Results evidence the role of EDTA as controlling agent of the morphology and primary and secondary mean particle size.

Biomimetic Control of Calcite Morphology with Homopolyanions

Biomineralization is an intricate process that relies on precise physiological control of solution and interface properties. Despite much research of the process, mechanistic details of biomineralization are only beginning to be understood, and studies of additives seldom investigate a wide space of chemical conditions in mineralizing solutions. We present a ternary diagram-based method that globally identifies the changing roles and effects of polymer additives in mineralization. Simple polyanions were demonstrated to induce a great variety of morphologies, each of which can be selectively and reproducibly fabricated. This chemical and physical analysis also aided in identifying conditions that selectively promote heterogeneous nucleation and controlled cooperative assembly, manifested here in the form of highly organized cones. Similar complex shapes of CaCO(3) have previously been synthesized using double hydrophilic block copolymers. We have found the biomimetic mineralization process to occur interfacially and by the assembly of precursor modules, which generate large mesocrystals with high dependence on pH and substrate surface.

Fibrous and Helical Calcite Crystals Induced by Synthetic Polypeptides ContainingO-Phospho-L-Serine andO-Phospho-L-Threonine

The modification of CaCO(3) crystal growth by synthetic L-Ser(PO(3)H(2)) and L-Thr(PO(3)H(2)) containing polypeptides is described. The amino acids Gly, L-Glu, L-Asp, L-Ser, L-Ala, and L-Lys induced rhombohedral calcite with a rough surface. Dipeptides, Xaa-L-Ser(PO(3)H(2)) (Xaa = Gly, L-Glu, L-Asp, L-Ser, L-Ala and L-Lys) induced vaterite crystals in the lower [Ca(2+)]. On the other hand, L-Ser(PO(3)H(2))-containing polypeptides formed spherical vaterite and fibrous calcite. The characteristic helical calcite was found in the presence of copoly[L-Ser(PO(3)H(2))(75)L-Asp(25)] or poly[L-Ser(PO(3)H(2))(3)-L-Asp]. Fibrous calcite, spherical vaterite, and helical calcite crystals were subjected to XRD and EDX analysis. XRD revealed the specific faces of these crystals. EDX spectra and surface analysis visualized the localization of the polypeptides and CaCO(3) components. Together with TEM and SAED data, we propose hypothetical growth mechanisms for the fibrous and helical calcite crystals.

Self-organization of Te nanorods into V-shaped assemblies: a Brownian dynamics study and experimental insights

Computer modeling of nanoscale processes provides critical quantitative insights into nanoscale self-organization, which is hard to achieve by other means. Starting from a suspension of Te nanorods, it was recently found that short nanorods (50 nm) self-organized into checkmark-like V-shaped assemblies over a period of a few days, whereas long nanorods (2200 nm) did not. This experimental fact was difficult to explain, and so here we use Brownian dynamics simulations of a dilute suspension of hard spherocylinders to better understand the process of self-organization. With the assumption that close encounters between nanorod tips result in their merger into V-particles, it was found that the ratio of the initial rate of nanorod formation for the short and long rods was 3760. By systematically varying the length and the concentration, we found that the concentration of the nanorods, rather their length, was primarily instrumental in setting the initial rate of checkmark formation. Using a simple kinetic model in conjunction with experimental data, we find that approximately 30,000 close encounters are required on average for a single successful merger. This study gives an important reference point for understanding the mechanism of the formation of complex nanostructured system by oriented attachment; it also can be extended to and provides conceptual leads for other self-organized systems.