Formation of amorphous calcium carbonate and its transformation into mesostructured calcite

Abstract

Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a key precursor of crystalline CaCO₃ biominerals and biomimetic materials. Despite recent extensive research, its formation and amorphous-to-crystalline transformation are not, however, fully understood. Here we show that hydrated ACC nanoparticles form after spinodal liquid–liquid phase separation and transform via dissolution/(re)precipitation into poorly hydrated and anhydrous ACC nanoparticles that aggregate, forming a range of 1D, 2D and 3D structures. The formation of these structures appears to be achieved by oriented attachment (OA), facilitated by the calcite medium-range order of ACC nanoparticles. Both electron irradiation processes in the TEM and under humid air exposure at room temperature of the latter ACC structures result in pseudomorphs of single crystalline mesostructured calcite. While the high-vacuum/e-beam heating leads to solid-state transformation, the transformation in air occurs via an interface-coupled dissolution/precipitation mechanism. Our results differ significantly from the currently accepted model, which considers that the low T ACC-to-calcite transformation in air and during biomineralization is a solid-state process. These results may help to better understand how calcite biominerals form after ACC and offer the possibility of biomimetically preparing single crystalline calcite structures after ACC by tuning pH₂O at room temperature.