Stable Binding Conformations of Polymaleic and Polyacrylic Acids at a Calcite Surface in the Presence of...

Elucidating the stable binding conformations of additives at the surface of CaCO₃ crystals is essential to biomineralization, scale inhibition, and materials technology. However, accomplishing this by experimental means is rather difficult. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations based on a metadynamics approach were conducted to elucidate the stable binding conformations of a deprotonated polymaleic acid (PMA) additive and two deprotonated poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) additives with different polymerization degrees in the presence of various countercations at a hydrated calcite (104) surface. The simulated free-energy surfaces suggested the existence of several slightly different stable binding conformations for each additive. The appearance of these distinct binding conformations is speculated to originate from different balances of interactions between the additive, the calcite surface, and the countercations. The binding conformations and binding stabilities at the calcite surface were affected by the countercations, with Ca²⁺ ions producing a more pronounced effect than Na⁺ ions. Furthermore, the simulation results suggested that the binding stability at the calcite surface was higher for the PMA additive than for the PAA additives, and the PAA additive with a polymerization degree of 10 displayed a binding stability that was similar to or lower than that of the PAA additive with a polymerization degree of 5. The present simulation method provides a new strategy for analyzing the binding conformations of complex additives at material surfaces, developing additives that stably bind to these surfaces, and designing additives to control crystal growth.