IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v5y2014i1d10.1038_ncomms4169.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dehydration and crystallization of amorphous calcium carbonate in solution and in air

Author

Listed:
  • Johannes Ihli

    (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds)

  • Wai Ching Wong

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Elizabeth H. Noel

    (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds)

  • Yi-Yeoun Kim

    (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds)

  • Alexander N. Kulak

    (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds)

  • Hugo K. Christenson

    (School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds)

  • Melinda J. Duer

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Fiona C. Meldrum

    (School of Chemistry, University of Leeds)

Abstract

The mechanisms by which amorphous intermediates transform into crystalline materials are poorly understood. Currently, attracting enormous interest is the crystallization of amorphous calcium carbonate, a key intermediary in synthetic, biological and environmental systems. Here we attempt to unify many contrasting and apparently contradictory studies by investigating this process in detail. We show that amorphous calcium carbonate can dehydrate before crystallizing, both in solution and in air, while thermal analyses and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance measurements reveal that its water is present in distinct environments. Loss of the final water fraction—comprising less than 15% of the total—then triggers crystallization. The high activation energy of this step suggests that it occurs by partial dissolution/recrystallization, mediated by surface water, and the majority of the particle then crystallizes by a solid-state transformation. Such mechanisms are likely to be widespread in solid-state reactions and their characterization will facilitate greater control over these processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Johannes Ihli & Wai Ching Wong & Elizabeth H. Noel & Yi-Yeoun Kim & Alexander N. Kulak & Hugo K. Christenson & Melinda J. Duer & Fiona C. Meldrum, 2014. "Dehydration and crystallization of amorphous calcium carbonate in solution and in air," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-10, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms4169
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4169
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms4169
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms4169?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liang Dong & Yun-Jun Xu & Cong Sui & Yang Zhao & Li-Bo Mao & Denis Gebauer & Rose Rosenberg & Jonathan Avaro & Ya-Dong Wu & Huai-Ling Gao & Zhao Pan & Hui-Qin Wen & Xu Yan & Fei Li & Yang Lu & Helmut , 2022. "Highly hydrated paramagnetic amorphous calcium carbonate nanoclusters as an MRI contrast agent," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms4169. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.