Homogeneous Precipitation of Calcium Carbonates by Enzyme Catalyzed Reaction

Catalytic decomposition of urea by urease in aqueous calcium chloride solutions was used to rapidly prepare calcium carbonate polymorphs at room temperature. The nature of the resulting particles depended on the concentration of the enzyme and, in a strong manner, on the agitation of the reacting solutions. In an undisturbed system an amorphous precipitate is formed first, which readily crystallized to vaterite and upon aging changed to calcite. Under the influence of magnetic stirring, the amorphous phase could be not observed; instead smaller particles were initially obtained, which aggregated to vaterite and calcite. Similarly, the application of ultrasonic energy produced small vaterite particles at the early stages. It is apparent that enzyme macromolecules are important in the development of calcite faces and, as such, they exert significant influence on calcite morphology, without being present in detectable amounts in the resulting solids. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.