Photolysis-Induced Mineralization of Self-Assembled Witherite Hierarchical Architectures

Abstract

The natural phenomenon that calcium carbonate secretion in coral tissues falls at night or in darkness and rises during the day allows us to glean some clues that the light irradiation, either directly or indirectly, should contribute to the mineralization of natural minerals. This paper describes the synthesis of self-assembled witherite hierarchical architectures originating from the photolysis of living matters, for example, pyruvic and barbituric acid. Most of the witherite architectures have seldom been reported to date. Furthermore, the witherite crystals that are obtained in the absence of commonly used polymers or surfactants show impressive hierarchical order and mesoscale assembly. Investigation into the formation process of the crystals suggests that the adsorbate effect caused by low molecular weight ions under UV irradiation have a remarkable kinetic effect on crystallization, particularly with regard to polymorph selectivity and habit modification. Inasmuch the avoidance of extra additives and different kinds of matrices can achieved through such a process, this method provides the possibility to utilize such carbonates to serve as phase-change-material (PCM) supporter in future “smart” wall.