Selective Fabrication of Barium Carbonate Nanoparticles in the Lumen of Halloysite Nanotubes

• Published in: Minerals (Basel) Vol. 8; no. 7; p. 296
• Main Authors: Ouyang, Jing, Mu, Dawei, Zhang, Yi, Yang, Huaming, Suib, Steven
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 11.07.2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Aggregation; Aluminum; Ammonia; Analytical methods; Barium; barium carbonate; Calorimetry; Carbonates; Catalysis; Chemical synthesis; Clay; Decomposition; Differential scanning calorimetry; Electron microscopy; Fabrication; Fourier transforms; GEOSCIENCES; halloysite; Hydrochloric acid; Infrared spectroscopy; Leaching; Mathematical morphology; Minerals; Morphology; Nanocrystals; Nanoparticles; nanoreactors; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes; Power plants; selective decoration; Sintering; Solar energy; Solid oxide fuel cells; Solvents; Stability; Thermogravimetry; Transmission electron microscopy; Urea; Urease; X-ray diffraction; Zeta potential; China
• ISSN: 2075-163X; 2075-163X
• DOI: 10.3390/min8070296

Barium carbonate (BaCO3) materials with the controllable morphology of nanoparticles were selectively loaded into the lumen halloysite nanotubes (abbreviated as Hal) by a urease assisted catalytic implementation strategy. The Hal mineral was pre-treated through leaching by hydrochloric acid (abbreviated as A-Hal), resulting in increased defect sites and zeta potential. The negatively charged urease was loaded inside the positively charged A-Hal lumen, and then through the decomposition of urea catalyzed by urease to produce carbonate ions and ammonia. When Ba2+ diffused in, BaCO3 particles were selectively synthesized in the lumen of A-Hal, the pore channels of A-Hal effectively controlled the growth and aggregation of BaCO3 nanocrystals and their geometrical morphology. The obtained BaCO3/A-Hal-T was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetry (DSC-TG). The BaCO3/A-Hal-T may provide a candidate for potential applications.