Soft Template Method Of The Amphiphilic Molecules Control The Synthesis Of Inorganic Minerals

It has been an intensive focus to synthesize higher ordered inorganic crystals or hybrid inorganic/organic materials with a specific size, shape, orientation, organization, complex form, and hierarchy owing to the importance and potential to design new materials and devices in various fields such as catalysis, medicine, electronics, ceramics, pigments, and cosmetics. Recently, bioinspired morphosynthesis strategies have been emerging as an important tool for crystallization, taking advantage of using water soluble polymers as crystal growth modifiers or self-assembled polymer superstructures to template inorganic materials with controlled morphologies and hierarchy. Above the former works, nonionic poly (ethylene oxide)-poly (propylene oxide)-poly (ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer ((EO)₂₀(PPO)₇₂(PEO)₂₀), double hydrophilic copolymer poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate-block-(methacrylic acid) copolymer (PEGA-PMAA) and phosphonate inhibitor Diethylenetriamine penta (methylphosphonic acid) (DETPMP) were used as crystal growth modifiers or soft template to synthesize calcium carbonate, barium hydrogen phosphate and barium sulphate. We also synthesized a new dendritic poly (ethylene oxide)-poly (propylene oxide)-poly (ethylene oxide) block copolymer (SD31). Nanosized CdS spheres were successfully synthesized in inverse microemulsions H2O/SD31/n-butanol/n-heptane formed by the dendritic amphiphilic copolymer SD31. All theses results will not only enrich the knowledge of the principles of biomineralization, but also give useful references and good ideas to inorganic materials synthsis. In details, the main results are summarized as following:1. Morphology Control of Calcium Carbonate by Amphiphilic Block Copolymer PEO-PPO-PEO and Double Hydrophilic Copolymer PEGA-PMAACalcium carbonate is one of the most abundant biominerals in nature. Because of its...