Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Fabrication of hollow porous shells of calcium carbonate from self-organizing media

Abstract

A RICH variety of elaborate microscopic skeletal structures composed of inorganic materials are produced in nature1. Such complex, three-dimensional structures, if produced synthetically, could find important applications as light-weight ceramics, catalyst supports, biomedical implants and robust membranes for high-temperature separation technology. Here we describe a method for synthesizing hollow porous shells of crystalline calcium carbonate (aragonite) that resemble the coccospheres of certain marine algae. We show that thin cellular frameworks of either mesoporous or macroporous aragonite can be formed from oil–water–surfactant microemulsions supersaturated with calcium bicarbonate, with the pore size determined by the relative concentrations of water and oil. Using micrometre-sized polystyrene beads as the substrate for the microemulsion, hollow spherical shells of the honeycomb architecture can be produced. We propose that these cellular frameworks originate from rapid mineralization of aragonite, with a self-organized foam of oil droplets acting as a structural template, and suggest that similar processes could be of general importance in materials chemistry.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Thompson, D. W. On Growth and Form Vol. 2, 645–740 (1952).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kresge, C. T. et al. Nature 359, 710–712 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Watzke, H. J. & Dieschbourg, C. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 50, 1–14 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Walsh, D., Hopwood, J. D. & Mann, S. Science 264, 1576–1578 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Widawski, G., Rawiso, M. & François, B. Nature 369, 387–389 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Kitano, Y., Park, K. & Hood, D. W. J. geophys. Res. 67, 4873–4874 (1962).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Winter, A. & Siesser, W. G. Coccolithophores (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Schriven, L. E. & Sternling, C. V. Nature 187, 186–188 (1960).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Sebba, F. Foams and Biliquid Foams—Aphrons (Wiley, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Walsh, D., Mann, S. Fabrication of hollow porous shells of calcium carbonate from self-organizing media. Nature 377, 320–323 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/377320a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/377320a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing