Morphosynthesis of Mixed Metal Carbonates Using Micellar Aggregation

• Published in: Crystal growth & design Vol. 6; no. 6; pp. 1537 - 1541
• Main Authors: Sindhu, S, Jegadesan, S, Leong, R. A. Edward, Valiyaveettil, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington,DC American Chemical Society 01.06.2006
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Equations of state, phase equilibria, and phase transitions; Exact sciences and technology; General studies of phase transitions; Nucleation; Physics; Temperature dependence; Inorganic compounds; Nucleation; Ternary compounds; Transition element compounds; Calcium carbonates; Crystallization; Magnesium carbonates; XRD; Infrared spectra; Surfactants; Experimental study; Aggregation; Time dependence; Micellar systems; Morphology; Superstructure; Aging; Chemical composition; Cadmium carbonates; Zinc carbonates
• ISSN: 1528-7483; 1528-7505
• DOI: 10.1021/cg050411x

Understanding the nucleation of crystals of calcium salts is an important area of research owing to its biological significance. Roles of surfactants and added bivalent metal ions on the nucleation of calcium carbonate crystals were investigated. Different mixed metal carbonates from bivalent ions such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, cadmium, and barium ions were prepared in the presence of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and fully characterized using different microscopic techniques. Crystals of calcium carbonate and calcium−cadmium carbonate with elongated rod-type superstructure were nucleated with high aspect ratios. The presence of different bivalent metal ions in the crystallization medium significantly influenced the composition and morphologies of the crystals. Synthetic parameters such as concentration of cations, anions, surfactant, aging temperature, and aging time were controlled to get highly ordered metal carbonate structures. Incorporation of high concentrations of cadmium in the calcium carbonate lattice may be the reason for high biological intake of cadmium in various tissues of animals living in pollutant environment.