Microwave-assisted synthesis of BaCO3 crystals with higher-order superstructures in the presence of SDS

Abstract

In the present paper, barium carbonate crystals with higher-order superstructures have successfully been synthesized via a rapid microwave-assisted route in the aqueous system with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), employing BaCl₂·2 H₂O and NaHCO₃ as starting reagents. X-Ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the product was an orthorhombic BaCO₃. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations showed that the higher-order superstructures were formed by the self-assembly of BaCO₃ nanoflakes. Some factors, including the microwave heating power, the time, the concentration of SDS, the initial concentration of reactants, pH value of the system and kinds of surfactants, influencing the morphology of the BaCO₃ crystals were systematically studied. Researches showed that SDS played a crucial role in the formation of BaCO₃ superstructures.