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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Microbiologically Induced Calcite Precipitation Mediated by Sporosarcina pasteurii
Published on: April 16, 2016
Real-Time Observation of Water-Soluble Mineral Precipitation in Aqueous Solution by In Situ High-Resolution Electron
Jong Min Yuk1, Qin Zhou1, Jiyoung Chang1
1Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
Abstract:
The precipitation and dissolution of water-soluble minerals in aqueous systems is a familiar process occurring commonly in nature. Understanding mineral nucleation and growth during its precipitation is highly desirable, but past in situ techniques have suffered from limited spatial and temporal resolution. Here, by using in situ graphene liquid cell electron microscopy, mineral nucleation and growth processes are demonstrated in high spatial and temporal resolution. We precipitate the mineral thenardite (Na2SO4) from aqueous solution with electron-beam-induced radiolysis of water. We demonstrate that minerals nucleate with a two-dimensional island structure on the graphene surfaces. We further reveal that mineral grains grow by grain boundary migration and grain rotation. Our findings provide a direct observation of the dynamics of crystal growth from ionic solutions.
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