Understanding nucleation pathways in organo-mineral systems

The main aim of this proposal is to understand the impact of organic additives on the nucleation pathways of the important biomineral calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and the crucial component in the cement industry portlandite (Ca(OH)2). Although our earlier performed PDF measurements resolved the nanostructural evolution of portlandite in the absence and the presence of additives, additional SAXS/WAXS analyses are essential to track larger scale processes, such as aggregation [1]. In our proposed experiments, we aim at correlating the physicochemical properties of additive molecules with their effect on the crystallization processes of CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2 by performing in situ SAXS/WAXS measurements. This proposal is part of an ESRF InnovaXN project entitled: “Understanding how green additives control crystallization at the nanoscale”.