Phase-controlled crystallization of amorphous calcium carbonate in ethanol-water binary solvents

The evolution of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) into crystals in ethanol/water binary solvents under ambient temperature was investigated, and it was found to depend on the volume ratio of ethanol to water (R). Calcite remained dominant when the amount of water was high (R = 1/3). A slight change in the amount of ethanol (R = 3/1) could lead to a dramatic change in the polymorph from calcite to aragonite. However, when poly (allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) was added at R = 3/1, almost pure vaterite could be obtained, which has a specific morphological variation (from hollow microspheres to cloud-like). This study provides an alternative polymorphic route for the CaCO 3 mineral by using the evolution of ACC in different solvent environments, which provides some useful clues for understanding the importance of kinetic control of the morphologies and polymorphs of a wide range of inorganic materials. In addition, this simple mild phase-controlled synthetic method could be scaled up as a green chemistry route for the industrial production of different polymorphs of CaCO 3 .