Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Amorphous Calcium Carbonate: Synthesis
and Transformation
Jun Jiang, Min-Rui Gao, Yun-Fei Xu, and Shu-Hong Yu
Abstract
In this chapter, we discuss in detail about the syntheses and transfor-
mation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). The aim of the present chapter
is to present an overview on the synthetic strategies and crystallization of ACC
reported till now. It should be noticed that the synthesis strategies and crystallization
of ACC have achieved great progress. The main preparation methods for ACC
include the direct-mixing method, gas diffusion technique, hydrolysis of carbonate
source method and Kitano method, which have been fully discussed. A general
review on the crystallization of ACC has been discussed. It is demonstrated that
the transformation of ACC plays an important role in biomineralization. Several
important transformation routes of ACC are selected for more detailed discussion.
Current progress in this field demonstrates that there are a number of potential
opportunities for both syntheses and transformation of ACC, and CaCO
3
crystals
with different morphologies, structural features, and functionalities. In future, it is
dramatically needed to find a reasonable way to prepare new composite materials
using ACC or their transformed calcium carbonate crystals as one component,
making ACC more useful for practical applications.
6.1
Introduction
Recently, material synthesis that simulates biomineralization in organic systems
such as calcium carbonate, magnetic iron oxide, and amorphous silica of exquisite
morphology, has attracted increasing interest because of their structural and func-
tional value [
1
-
11
]. For example, the mechanical properties of bone and the optical
J. Jiang • M.-R. Gao • Y.-F. Xu • S.-H. Yu (
)
Division of Nanomaterials and Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory
for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei,
230026, People's Republic of China
e-mail:
jiang123@mail.ustc.edu.cn
;
gmr@mail.ustc.edu.cn
;
babyxyf@mail.ustc.edu.cn
;
shyu@ustc.edu.cn
