Morphology-controllable self-assembly of strontium carbonate (SrCO3) crystals under the action of different regulators

Abstract

Strontium carbonate crystals with different morphologies can be synthesized by using strontium chloride hexahydrate and ammonium bicarbonate working as reactants under the conditions of starch, sesbania gum, glycine, and gelatin as regulators, respectively. According to the characterization results analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), suggests that strontium carbonate crystals grow more intact and do not carry impurities. What’s more, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to confirm the successful synthesis of strontium carbonate. It was observed by scanning electron microscopy that (SEM) the strontium carbonate crystal synthesized with hydroxyl group as regulator was composed of needle-shaped with a length to aspect ratio of about 10–15, while the strontium carbonate crystal synthesized with carboxyl group as regulator was composed of short bars with a length to aspect ratio of about 2–5. It evinces that different functional groups have different regulation effects on crystal growth by the analysis of classical nucleation theory. Under the action of hydroxyl group regulators, the longitudinal growth of crystal is easier, while under the action of carboxyl group regulators, the longitudinal growth of crystal is more difficult. Moreover, the method is simple, easy to implement, and can bring value to practical commercial applications.