Formation of calcium carbonate thin films on polarized calcite single crystals in the presence of polyaspartic acid

Abstract

We have demonstrated the formation of calcium carbonate on polarized (00.1)-, (10.0)-, and (10.4)-oriented calcite substrates. The crystallization of calcium carbonate was achieved by the slow diffusion of CO2 and NH3 vapors from solid (NH4)2CO3 in a CaCl2 solution. The addition of PAsp induced the formation of CaCO3 thin films. The surface and fracture morphologies of the films showed two different structures. One is a columnar structure that formed on the substrates and the other is a fan-like structure that formed on the existed columnar structure. XRD and FTIR analyses suggested that the films consisted of a mixture of calcite, vaterite and aragonite.