Crystallization and assembling behavior of calcium carbonate controlled by Ca-organic fibers

• CaCO3 crystals first were prepared by Ca-organic fibers.
• Pure vaterite and aragonite crystals were prepared by Ca-DC fibers.
• Thin wafer-like vaterite crystals were prepared.

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals with different phases were obtained on the basis of one-dimensional Ca-deoxycholate fibers (Ca-DC fibers) under ambient conditions. Ca-DC fibers were prepared by the combination of Ca2+ ions and sodium deoxycholate (SDC) before the addition of sodium bicarbonate. Vaterite dominated mixtures could be easily obtained in the presence of Ca-DC fibers in the aqueous system at 10 °C. As the temperature was increased to 30 and 120 °C, pure vaterite and aragonite with novel morphologies were obtained, respectively. The framework formed by one-dimensional Ca-DC fibers was demonstrated to be the key role in mediating the crystallization and assembling behaviors of calcium carbonate. In this study, Ca-DC fibers, prepared as a novel insoluble organic polymorph controller, could even play an important role in the industrial production of CaCO3 with different polymorphs in future and other similar Ca-organic fibers are believed to have same functions as well.

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