Joint study combines advanced methods
Researchers from the groups of Dr. Guinevere Mathies, Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz, and Prof. Dr. Denis Gebauer Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Leibniz University Hannover, collaborated and thereby critically combined their expertise: they jointly addressed the question of how amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is formed. Such non-crystalline intermediates are important in biomineralization; a well-known example is the iridescent nacre, a composite material made of crystalline calcium carbonate platelets and biopolymers. The recently published results could allow developing new approaches for materials synthesis, where ACC – surprisingly – could even be used in electrochemical applications.
Formation mechanism of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) deciphered
In the research group Solid State and Materials Analytics led by Prof. Dr. Denis Gebauer, Dr. Maxim Gindele showed, for the first time, that ACC actually conducts electricity – a completely unexpected observation, as calcium carbonate itself is an insulator. The research teams found two chemically different environments of water molecules in amorphous calcium carbonate, which are a remainder of its history as a colloid. The more mobile environment forms a network across the amorphous calcium carbonate in which charge carriers can move, explaining its conductivity.
- Details on the study: news release University of Konstanz, “Biomineralization mechanism revealed”
- Original publication: M.B. Gindele, S. Vinod-Kumar, J. Rochau, D. Boemke, E. Gross, V. SubbaRao Redrouthu, D. Gebauer and G. Mathies (2024) Colloidal pathways of amorphous calcium carbonate formation lead to distinct water environments and conductivity. Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44381-x
