Structural and stereochemical relationships between Langmuir monolayers and calcium carbonate nucleation

The structural and stereochemical factors involved in the oriented nucleation of CaCO₃ under compressed Langmuir monolayers have been studied by optical and electron microscopy, and X-ray and electron diffraction. The effect of headgroup charge, stereochemistry and changes in supersaturation have been investigated. At total (Ca)=9 mM, monolayers with carboxylate headgroups induce the oriented nucleation of calcite with the (11.0) axis perpendicular to the organic surface. At (Ca)=4.5 mM, oriented vaterite with the (00.1) axis normal to the monolayer, is deposited. The common features of these interactions are: Ca accumulation at the stearate headgroups, geometric matching of lattice distances (calcite only) and stereochemical correspondence between carboxylate and carbonate groups at the monolayer/crystal interface. In contrast, nucleation under positively charged octadecylamine monolayers was independent of (Ca) and gave vaterite aligned either along the (00.1) or (11.0) crystallographic axes. Although Ca binding is absent on these films, there is the possibility of stereochemical matching between bidentate binding of bicarbonate and the corresponding anions in the (00.1) and (11.0) crystal surfaces. Crystals (calcite and vaterite) grown under liquid-phase stearate monolayers were of increased size and uniformity in particle size distribution compared with those nucleated under fully compressed films. CaCO₃ crystallization under octadecanol monolayers was inhibited and crystals grown in the presence of cholesterol films were the same as in the control experiments.