Morphosynthesis of mixed metal carbonates using micellar aggregation

Abstract

Understanding the nucleation of crystals of calcium salts is an important area of research owing to its biological significance. Roles of surfactants and added bivalent metal ions on the nucleation of calcium carbonate crystals were investigated. Different mixed metal carbonates from bivalent ions such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, cadmium, and barium ions were prepared in the presence of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and fully characterized using different microscopic techniques. Crystals of calcium carbonate and calcium-cadmium carbonate with elongated rod-type superstructure were nucleated with high aspect ratios. The presence of different bivalent metal ions in th..