Biomineral nanoparticles are space-filling
Li Yang, Christopher E. Killian, Martin Kunz, Nobumichi Tamura and P. U. P. A. Gilbert
Nanoscale, 2011, 3, 603-609
Sea urchin biominerals are known to form from aggregating nanoparticles of amorphous calcium carbonate, which then crystallize into macroscopic single crystals of calcite. The group measured the surface areas of these biominerals, finding them to be comparable to those of space-filling macroscopic geologic calcite crystals. These biominerals are therefore different from synthetic mesocrystals, which are always porous. Based on this results, the group proposes that space-filling amorphous calcium carbonate is the structural precursor for echinoderm biominerals.
Mollusk shells, corals, and echinoderm biominerals have remarkable mechanical properties, making them the object of many studies to shed some light on their formation mechanisms.
Read the whole article now
Article submitted as part of the Themed Issue on Crystallization and Formation Mechanisms of Nanostructures, read the issue here
Scientists from the US describe the fabrication of 3D multifunctional energy-storage nanoarchitectures.
