The onset of calcium carbonate nucleation: a density functional theory molecular dynamics and hybrid microsolvation/continuum study

Density functional theory (Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof) based methods have been used to study the structure and hydration environment of the building blocks of CaCO 3 in aqueous solutions of calcium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate. Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations of Ca(2+)/CO3(2-) and Ca (2+)/HCO3(-) in explicit water were performed to investigate the formation of CaCO3 and the hydration shell of the solvated hetero-ion pair. Our simulations show that the formation of the monomer of CaCO3 occurs with an associative mechanism and that the dominant building block of calcium (bi)carbonate in aqueous solution is Ca[eta(1)-(H)CO3](H2O)5, i.e., the preferred hydration number is five, while the (bi)carbonate is coordinated to the calcium in a monodentate mode. This result agrees with static calculations, where a hybrid approach using a combination of explicit solvent molecules and a polarizable continuum model has been applied to compute the solvation free energies of calcium bicarbonate species. Furthermore, the discrete-continuum calculations predict that the Ca(HCO3)2 and Ca(HCO3)3(-) species are stable in an aqueous environment preferentially as Ca(HCO3)2(H2O)4 and Ca(HCO3)3(H2O)2(-), respectively.     

Heterogeneous uptake and reactivity of formic acid on calcium carbonate particles: a Knudsen cell reactor, FTIR and SEM study

The heterogeneous uptake and reactivity of formic acid (HCOOH), a common gas-phase organic acid found in the environment, on calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) particles have been investigated using a Knudsen cell reactor, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR measurements show that the adsorption of formic acid on the surface of calcium carbonate results in the formation of calcium formate. Besides calcium formate, carbonic acid is also a reaction product under dry conditions (<1% RH). Under dry conditions and at low pressures, the initial uptake coefficient of formic acid on CaCO(3) particles is measured to be 3 +/- 1 x 10(-3) and decreases as the surface saturates with adsorbed products. The maximum surface coverage of formic acid under dry conditions is determined to be (3 +/- 1)x 10(14) molecules cm(-2). Under humidified conditions (RH >10%), adsorbed water on the surface of the carbonate particles participates in the surface reactivity of these particles, which results in the enhanced uptake kinetics and extent of reaction of this organic acid on CaCO(3) as well as opens up several new reaction pathways. These reaction pathways include: (i) the water-assisted dissociation of carbonic acid to CO(2) and H(2)O and (ii) the formation of calcium formate islands and crystallites, as evident by SEM images. The results presented here show that adsorbed water plays a potentially important role in the surface chemistry of gas-phase organic acids on calcium carbonate particles.     

Two modes of transformation of amorphous calcium carbonate films in air

Large-area amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) films in air are shown to be transformed into crystalline calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) films via two modes-dissolution-recrystallization and solid-solid phase transition-depending on the relative humidity of the air and the temperature. Moisture in the air promotes the transformation of ACC into crystalline forms via a dissolution-recrystallization process. Increasing the humidity increases the rate of ACC crystallization and gives rise to films with numerous large pores. As the temperature is increased, the effect of moisture in the air is reduced and solid-solid transition by thermal activation becomes the dominant transformation mechanism. At 100 and 120 degrees C, ACC films are transformed into predominantly (110) oriented crystalline films. Collectively, the results show that calcium carbonate films with different morphologies, crystal phases, and structures can be obtained by controlling the humidity and temperature. This ability to control the transformation of ACC should assist in clarifying the role of ACC in the biomineralization of CaCO(3) and should open new avenues for preparing CaCO(3) films with oriented and fine structure.     

阴离子氨基酸表面活性剂调控碳酸钙的仿生合成

室温下, 在乙醇或乙醇-水混合体系中, 利用氨基酸表面活性剂N-酰基十二烷基肌氨酸钠(Sar)调控合成碳酸钙, 采用SEM, XRD和FTIR等技术表征了反应产物. 在乙醇体系中, 首先形成多面体形状的文石, 然后逐渐转变为圆球状的无定形碳酸钙. 在乙醇-水混合体系中, 合成了花簇状多级结构碳酸钙晶体. 增加N-酰基十二烷基肌氨酸钠的用量有助于形成球霰石结构, 当n(Ca2+)∶n(Sar)=1∶1 时, 得到的花状碳酸钙为球霰石和方解石的混合物, 当n(Ca2+)∶n(Sar)=1∶2 时, 得到纯净的球霰石, 其形貌为大小较均一的单分散的球, 直径约为7 μm; 另外, 当n(Ca2+)∶n(Sar)=1∶1时, 混合溶剂中水和乙醇的体积比由1.5∶1依次增加为7∶3和3∶1时, 碳酸钙晶体的形貌由花状逐渐向球形过渡, 晶体中球霰石和方解石的含量也随之变化, 其中, 当水和醇的体积比为7∶3时, 产物主要为球霰石型晶体.     

Synthesis of uniform and dispersive calcium carbonate nanoparticles in a protein cage through control of electrostatic potential

We have synthesized calcium carbonate nanoparticles (Ca-NPs) in the cavity of a cage-shaped protein, apoferritin, by regulating the electrostatic potential of the molecule. The electrostatic potential in the cavity was controlled by pH changes resulting from changes in the dissolved carbon dioxide (CO(2)) concentration in the reaction solution. Recombinant L-apoferritin was mixed with a suspension of calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)), and the mixture was pressurized with gaseous CO(2) at 2 MPa. The pH of the solution decreased from 9.3 to 4.4; the CaCO(3) dissolved during pressurization, and then precipitated after the pressure was reduced to ambient. After repeating the pressurization/depressurization process three times, about 70% of the apoferritin molecules were found to contain nanoparticles with an average diameter of 5.8 ± 1.2 nm in their cavity. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron diffraction analysis showed that the nanoparticles were calcite, one of the most stable crystal forms of CaCO(3). Electrostatic potential calculations revealed a transition in the potential in the apoferritin cavity, from negative to positive, below pH 4.4. The electrostatic potential change because of the change in pH was crucial for ion accumulation. Since the Ca-NPs synthesized by this method were coated with a protein shell, the particles were stably dispersed in solution and did not form aggregates. These Ca-NPs may be useful for medical applications such as synthetic bone scaffolds.     

Calcium carbonate solubility: a reappraisal of scale formation and inhibition

Considerable disparity exists in the published thermodynamic data for selected species in the Ca(2+) /CO(2)/H(2)O system near 25 degrees C and 1 atm pressure. Some authors doubt the significance of CaCO(3)(0)aq) complexes although there is experimental evidence of their occurrence. Evaluation of all the published experimental and estimated data for aqueous calcium carbonate species confirms that the consistent set of constants given by Plummer and Busenberg in 1982 is the best available, and suggests a formation constant log beta = 3.22 for CaCO(3)(0)(aq). This value was confirmed by additional experimental data and calculations using a specially developed computer program. The solubility s and solubility product K(s) are critically evaluated for each solid polymorph (amorphous CaCO(3), ikaite, vaterite, aragonite and calcite) using a hydrated ion pair model and we give coherent explanations for the calcium carbonate precipitation/dissolution process and the existence of supersaturated waters. The practical cases of scale formation and its inhibition by phosphonate-type compounds are discussed and explained with the same model, taking into account the CaCO(3)(0)(aq) species.     

Divisive effect of alcohol-water mixed solvents on growth morphology of calcium carbonate crystals

Controlling the process of crystal growth is of importance to the biomineralization and materials science. In this work, some novel morphology of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was precipitated in an ethanol-water binary solvent (EWBS) with a CaCl2/Na2CO3 reaction system. For the solutions of CaCl2/Na2CO3 in EWBS, the alcoholization and hydration of Ca2+ and CO3(2-) were discussed from the radial distribution functions by molecular dynamics simulations, and the number density profiles of water molecules around and approximately 15 A away from CO3(2-) were employed to reveal the distribution of water molecules. It is found that EWBS has a divisive effect on Ca2+ and CO3(2-), and the local inhomogeneity of EWBS would be enhanced by adding some Na2CO3 into it. This inhomogeneity results in an aqueous two-phase system as x E goes up to 0.7. In addition, the novel morphology of CaCO3 under different molar ratios of Ca2+/CO3(2-) and in different mixed solvents were confirmed by XRD and SEM, and the relationships between the morphology of CaCO 3 and the structural properties of mixed solvents were further explored.     

PS-b-PAA嵌段共聚物包覆碳酸钙的表界面性质和机理研究

通过聚苯乙烯-丙烯酸嵌段共聚物(PS-b-PAA)包覆碳酸钙系列样品的溶解曲线，结合近红外光谱和XPS推断得到了PS-b-PAA分子与碳酸钙表面的键合方式、形态和作用机理。认为形成单分子层包覆时表面PS-b-PAA的质量分数(Cb)为0．92％。PS-b-PAA羧基与碳酸钙表面的作用方式为：CaCO3 [-C-CCOO^--]n→Ca[-OOCC-C-]n CO3^2-。在PS-b-PAA浓度较低时。热力学上的不稳定使得链呈现PAA朝下的竖直状态，而随着PS-b-PAA浓度的增加，PS链段岛状聚集体的形成。原先直立和新键合的PS-b-PAA链将逐渐地以包绕的方式结合在碳酸钙的表面。     

生理盐水中牛血清白蛋白与碳酸钙的相互作用研究

珍珠、贝壳和甲壳是生物矿化的产物,具有高强度、高韧性。人们已对它们的组成、结构等进行了大量的研究犤１～４犦。结果表明,它们的主要成分是碳酸钙,但由于含有少量的蛋白质等有机基质,使其结构具有特殊的组装方式,从而显示出与纯碳酸钙迥然不同的优良物理性质和重要的生物功能。另一些研究表明胆结石、尿结石等异常生物矿化产物中也含有一定量的碳酸钙犤５犦。然而生物矿化过程非常复杂,其机理至今尚无统一说法。因此模拟生物矿化过程,了解有机基质在矿化过程中的作用,已成为化学、生物、医学和材料等多学科相互渗透和相互交叉的…     

Properties of amorphous calcium carbonate and the template action of vaterite spheres

The fast mixing of aqueous solutions of calcium chloride and sodium carbonate could immediately result in amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). Under vigorous stirring, the formed ACC in the precipitation system will dissolve first and, then, transform within minutes to produce crystalline forms of vaterite and calcite. After that, the solution-mediated mechanism dominates the transformation of the thermodynamically unstable vaterite into the thermodynamically stable calcite. Although ACC is the least stable form of the six anhydrous phases of calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)), it could be, however, produced and stabilized by a variety of organisms. To better understand the formation-transformation mechanism of ACC and vaterite into calcite, ex-situ methods (i.e., scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy) were used to characterize the formation-transformation process of ACC and vaterite in aqueous systems without organic additives, showing that ACC sampled at different conditions has different properties (i.e., lifetime, morphology, and spectrum characterization). It is also very interesting to capture the obviously polycrystalline particles of CaCO(3) during the transformation process from vaterite to calcite, which suggests the formation mechanism for the calcite superstructure with multidimensional morphology.     

运动和碳酸钙联合应用对去卵巢大鼠骨矿盐代谢的影响

用测定骨矿盐含量的方法,观察了运动和碳酸钙（CaCO3）联合应用对去卵巢大鼠骨矿盐代谢的影响。将健康4月龄雌性SD大鼠30只,用抽签法随机分成5组：正常对照组,假去卵巢组,去卵巢组,去卵巢＋CaCO3组,去卵巢＋CaCO3＋运动组。去卵巢＋CaCO3组和去卵巢＋CaCO3＋运动组大鼠于切除卵巢术后第2天开始给予CaCO3灌胃[元素钙20mg／（kg·d）],持续11周;去卵巢＋CaCO3＋运动组大鼠于去卵巢术后第7天开始运动训练,每周5d,每天连续匀速跑45min,16m／min,跑道倾角0°,持续10周。结果表明,去卵巢组大鼠骨干质量、骨干质量／体质量、骨灰质量、骨灰质量／体质量、骨灰质量／骨干质量（％）均明显低于假去卵巢组;去卵巢＋CaCO3组大鼠骨干质量、骨干质量／体质量、骨灰质量、骨灰质量／体质量、骨灰质量／骨干质量（％）等指标虽然较去卵巢组增加,但骨灰质量、骨灰质量／体质量、骨灰质量／骨干质量（％）等指标仍显著低于假去卵巢组;运动和CaCO3联合应用后,上述各指标均显著回升,并且基本恢复到对照组水平。提示运动可加强CaCO3抗去卵巢大鼠骨矿盐丢失的作用。     

A reactive force field for aqueous-calcium carbonate systems

A new reactive force field has been derived that allows the modelling of speciation in the aqueous-calcium carbonate system. Using the ReaxFF methodology, which has now been implemented in the program GULP, calcium has been simulated as a fixed charge di-cation species in both crystalline phases, such as calcite and aragonite, as well as in the solution phase. Excluding calcium from the charge equilibration process appears to have no adverse effects for the simulation of species relevant to the aqueous environment. Based on this model, the speciation of carbonic acid, bicarbonate and carbonate have been examined in microsolvated conditions, as well as bulk water. When immersed in a droplet of 98 water molecules and two hydronium ions, the carbonate ion is rapidly converted to bicarbonate, and ultimately carbonic acid, which is formed as the metastable cis-trans isomer under kinetic control. Both first principles and ReaxFF calculations exhibit the same behaviour, but the longer timescale accessible to the latter allows the diffusion of the carbonic acid to the surface of the water to be observed, where it is more stable at the interface. Calcium carbonate is also examined as ion pairs in solution for both CaCO(3)(0)((aq)) and CaHCO(3)(+)((aq)), in addition to the (1014) surface in contact with water.     

Amphiphilic phosphoprotein-controlled formation of amorphous calcium carbonate with hierarchical superstructure

Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) plays important roles in biomineralization, and the phosphoproteins extracted from biogenic stable ACC can induce and stabilize synthetic ACC in vitro. Here, mineralization of square-shaped ACC plates with micrometer-sized channels has been reported in the presence of the amphiphilic phosphoprotein casein. Casein can be assumed to take a key role during ACC plate formation, where it serves as an effective stabilization agent for ACC and assembles spherical ACC particles into ACC plates. The stabilizing effect of casein arises from the electrostatic attraction between phosphate groups as well as carbonate groups (especially the former) and the calcium ions, preventing the transformation from unstable ACC to the more stable crystalline phase of CaCO(3). The assembling effect of casein mainly comes from the hydrophobic interaction between casein molecules bound on CaCO(3) particle surface. The inclusion of casein in ACC plates revealed by the thermogavimetric analysis confirms the proposed stabilizing and assembling mechanism. The ability to fabricate such novel hierarchical structured ACC holds the promise for creating more complex micro- and nanostructured materials by use of biological proteins with special structure.     

Synthesis of size-controlled acid-resistant hybrid calcium carbonate microparticles as templates for fabricating "micelles-enhanced" polyelectrolyte capsules by the LBL technique

Size-controlled, low-dispersed calcium carbonate microparticles were synthesized in the presence of the amphiphilic block copolymer polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) by modulating the concentration of block copolymer in the reactive system. This type of hybrid microparticles have acid-resistant properties. By investigating the aggregation behaviors of PS-b-PAA micelles by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the mechanism of hybrid calcium carbonate formation illustrated that the block copolymer served not only as "pseudonuclei" for the growth of calcium carbonate nanocrystals, but also forms the supramicelle congeries, a spherical framework, as templates for calcium carbonate nanocrystal growth into hybrid CaCO(3) particles. Moreover, this pilot study shows that the hybrid microparticle is a novel candidate as a template for fabricating multilayer polyelectrolyte capsules, in which the block copolymer is retained within the capsule interior after core removal under soft conditions. This not only facilitates the encapsulation of special materials, but also provides "micelles-enhanced" polyelectrolyte capsules.     

无添加剂条件下文石型碳酸钙晶须制备及影响因素研究

在不加任何结晶控制剂或模板条件下,以CaCl2和Na2CO3为原料,利用复分解反应法制备了具有较好形貌和高长径比,且分布均一的文石型碳酸钙晶须,并利用扫描电镜(SEM)、X-射线粉末衍射(PXRD)和傅里叶转换红外光谱图(FT-IR)等手段对其进行了表征。研究了浓度、滴加速度、反应温度、搅拌速度以及滴加方式等因素对碳酸钙晶须的影响。结果表明最佳制备工艺为:CaC12溶液与Na2CO3溶液的浓度为0.05 mol.L-1,溶液滴加速度为1 mL.min-1,反应体系温度为80℃,搅拌速度为250 r.min-1。     

Interaction between biopolyelectrolytes and sparingly soluble mineral particles

We investigate the complex physicochemical behavior of dispersions containing calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) particles, a sparingly soluble mineral salt; and carrageenans, negatively charged biopolyelectrolytes containing sulfate groups. We reveal that the carrageenans suspend and stabilize CaCO(3) particles in neutral systems by absorbing on the particle surface which provides electrosteric stabilization. In addition, carrageenans provide a weak apparent yield stress which keeps the particles suspended for several months. The absorption measurements of carrageenan on the CaCO(3) particle indicate that more carrageenan is removed from the solution than expected from the case of a simple monolayer adsorption. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observations confirm that polyelectrolyte-containing precipitate is formed in both CaCO(3)-carrageenan and CaCl(2)-carrageenan mixtures. On the basis of these results, we confirm that in the presence of carrageenan some CaCO(3) dissolves and the Ca(2+) ions interact with the sulfate groups leading to aggregation and formation of particle-like structures. These new insights are important for fundamental understanding of other mineral-polyelectrolyte systems and have important implications for various industrial applications where calcium carbonate is used.     

Crystallization and aggregation behaviors of calcium carbonate in the presence of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and sodium dodecyl sulfate

An anionic surfactant interacts strongly with a polymer molecule to form a self-assembled structure, due to the attractive force of the hydrophobic association and electrostatic repulsion. In this crystallization medium, the surfactant-stabilized inorganic particles adsorbed on the polymer chains, as well as the bridging effect of polymer molecules, controlled the aggregation behavior of colloidal particles. In this presentation, the spontaneous precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was conducted from the aqueous systems containing a water-soluble polymer (poly(vinylpyrrolidone), PVP) and an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS). When the SDS concentrations were lower than the onset of interaction between PVP and SDS, the precipitated CaCO3 crystals were typically hexahedron-shaped calcite; the increasing SDS concentration caused the morphologies of CaCO3 aggregates to change from the flower-shaped calcite to hollow spherical calcite, then to solid spherical vaterite. These results indicate that the self-organized configurations of the polymer/surfactant supramolecules dominate the morphologies of CaCO3 aggregates, implying that this simple and versatile method expands the morphological investigation of the mineralization process.     

以葡聚糖为模板控制合成文石型碳酸钙

依据生物矿化的基本原理,在动态条件下以葡聚糖为模板,采用仿生的方法控制合成了具有独特形貌并含有少量葡聚糖的碳酸钙复合材料.用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、傅里叶变换红外吸收光谱(FTIR)和电导率测定等手段对所得的复合碳酸钙进行了形貌与结构表征.结果表明,所得CaCO₃为文石晶型,外貌类似菜叶.进一步的研究发现,在CaCO₃结晶过程中葡聚糖与CaCO₃之间存在超分子相互作用,并讨论了这种作用的可能机理.     

Formation of stable vaterite with poly(acrylic acid) by the delayed addition method

The crystallization of CaCO3 was examined by changing the addition time of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) to an aqueous solution of calcium carbonate by selectively interacting with the crystal at different stages during the crystal-forming process. The precipitation of CaCO3 was carried out by a double jet method to prevent heterogeneous nucleation on glass walls, and the sodium salt of PAA was added by a delayed addition method. In the initial presence of PAA in an aqueous solution of calcium carbonate, PAA acted as an inhibitor for the nucleation and growth of crystallization. However, it was found that stable vaterite particles were successfully obtained by delaying the addition of PAA from 1 to 60 min. The vaterite particles were stable in the aqueous solution for more than 30 days, and the CaCO3 particles were formed by a spherulitic growth mechanism. It is suggested that PAA strongly binds with the Ca2+ ion on the surface of CaCO3 particles to stabilize the unstable vaterite form effectively. Upon changing the addition time of PAA, we found that CaCO3 particles were formed through different formation mechanisms in selectively controlled crystallization at different stages during the crystallization process.     

Petunia-shaped superstructures of CaCO3 aggregates modulated by modified chitosan

This paper presents the crystallization behavior of calcium carbonate at the air/liquid interface of aqueous systems of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) using the Kitano method. Although the synthesized CMCS (Mw approximately 100,000) with 1.57 degree of carboxymethyl substitution shows no surface activity, it controls the crystallization of calcium carbonate to form a petunia-shaped superstructure. The shuttlecock-like head of this superstructure strongly supports Colfen's opinion (Rudloff, J.; Colfen, H. Langmuir 2004, 20, 991-996) for the existence of a gas template of CO2 bubbles temporarily captured by polymer molecules, while formation of the stem of this superstructure is provisionally attributed to the presence of the strong electrostatic interactions between calcium ions and the carboxylate groups. The CaCO3 superstructure and its morphology depend not only on the polymer concentration but also on the combined number of calcium ions per CMCS molecule. These results imply that this simple and versatile method expands the morphological investigation of mineralization processes.