Ultrasonication assisted and surfactant mediated synergistic approach for synthesis of calcium sulfate nano-dendrites

Calcium sulfate (CaSO4) nano-dendrimers were fabricated successfully via ultrasonic irradiation method using calcium chloride [CaCl2] and ammonium per sulfate [(NH4)2SO4] as precursors in aqueous solution by using cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as chemical surfactants. Diffusion-induced branching growth mechanism (DIBGM), influenced with the action of head-group and hydrocarbon chain effect of cationic surfactants, was the backbone in the formation of CaSO4 nano-dendrites. Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray powder Diffraction (XRD), Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (AES), Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED), Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Dynamic Light Spectroscopy (DLS) and BET surface area analyzer were used to characterize the products. Results obtained were compared with conventional stirring method that proved the superiority of sonication method to obtain well-crystalline nanostructures. Also, surfactant concentration, sonication frequency and time were noticed as the critical factors to generate such absolute morphologies at nano-crystalline size.