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Updated: Oct 30, 2025
07:37
Preparation of Macroporous Epitaxial Quartz Films on Silicon by Chemical Solution Deposition
Published on: December 21, 2015
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Controlling Calcium Carbonate Particle Morphology, Size, and Molecular Order Using Silicate
Lior Minkowicz1, Arie Dagan1, Vladimir Uvarov2
1The Institute for Drug Research, The School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 2, 2021
Summary
Silicon atoms in calcium carbonate (CaCO3) synthesis are key to controlling particle shape and crystal state. Adding silicon yields homogenous, amorphous nanospheres, improving microparticle production for industrial uses.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is abundant with diverse industrial applications.
- Synthesizing CaCO3 microparticles with controlled morphology and size is challenging.
- Precipitation methods often yield variable CaCO3 polymorphism and batch inconsistency.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the polymorphism of precipitated CaCO3.
- Analyze the influence of chemical composition on particle morphology and crystal state.
- Identify key factors controlling CaCO3 microparticle synthesis.
Main Methods:
- Precipitation reaction using calcium nitrate and sodium carbonate.
- Elemental analysis via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) microscopy.
- Crystallinity analysis using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD).
Main Results:
- Silicon presence in the precipitant significantly affects CaCO3 particle shape and crystal state.
- Spherical CaCO3 particles contained silicon traces, unlike irregular ones.
- Silicon-containing additives produced homogenous, amorphous nanosphere particles.
Conclusions:
- Silicon is a critical element for controlling CaCO3 morphology and crystallinity.
- This study introduces a method to control CaCO3 precipitation at the micro-scale.
- Findings offer insights into CaCO3 synthesis mechanisms for tailored applications.
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