Issue 30, 2022

Nanopore facilitated monohydrocalcitic amorphous calcium carbonate precipitation

Abstract

Predicting the precipitation of solids is important in both natural systems and subsurface energy applications. The factors controlling reaction mechanisms, phase selection and conversion between phases are particularly important. In this contribution the precipitation and growth of an amorphous calcium carbonate species from flowing aqueous solution in a nanoporous controlled pore glass is followed in situ with differential X-ray pair distribution function analysis. It is discovered that the local atomic structure of this phase indicates monohydrocalcite-like pair–pair correlations, yet is functionally amorphous because it lacks long-range structure. The unexpected occurrence of synthetic proto-monohydrocalcite amorphous calcium carbonate, precipitated from a solution undersaturated with respect to published solubilities, suggests that nanopore confinement facilitates formation of an amorphous phase at the expense of more favorable crystalline ones. This result illustrates that confinement and interface effects are physical factors exerting control on mineral nucleation behavior in natural and geological systems.

Graphical abstract: Nanopore facilitated monohydrocalcitic amorphous calcium carbonate precipitation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Jan 2022
Accepted
30 Jun 2022
First published
14 Jul 2022

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022,24, 18340-18346

Author version available

Nanopore facilitated monohydrocalcitic amorphous calcium carbonate precipitation

K. Page, A. G. Stack, S. A. Chen and H. Wang, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 18340 DOI: 10.1039/D2CP00446A

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