Hierarchically porous CaCO3 monoliths prepared from leaf template

•Hierarchically porous CaCO3 monoliths are prepared by using gingko leaf as template.•The synthesis method is simple and cost-effective.•The pore sizes distribution posses both meso- and macro characters.•The resulting products have many promising applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery carrier, biosensors, etc.

Herein, we demonstrate a simple and cost-effective method to prepare the hierarchically porous CaCO3 monoliths in a large scale by mineralizing gingko leaf templates with a calcium acetate precursor. The resulting products are characterized by FESEM, XRD, TEM and N2 adsorption. The wide distribution of pore sizes from meso- to macro- and the hierarchical 3D structure endow the resulting products with a variety of application potentials ranging from industry to biomedicine to nanotechnology.