Effect of anionic starburst dendrimer on the crystallization of CaCO_3 in aqueous solution

摘要

In nature, biological organisms produce polymer-inorganic hybrids. These hybrids have superior mechanical properties as compared to synthetic hybrids. Small amounts of acidic-rich proteins play a major role in forming these hybrids by influencing the mineral crystal nucleation and growth. Poly (amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers with carboxylate groups at the external surface termed half-generation or G=n.5 dendrimers have been proposed as mimics of anionic micelles or proteins. Due to unique and well-defined secondary structures of the dendrimers, anionic starburst dendrimers should be a good candidate for studying inorganic crystallization. In this paper, we studied a crystallization of CaCO_3 in the presence of anionic PAMAM dendrimers and found that anionic starburst dendrimer was a habit modifier and affect crystal morphology of inorganic crystallization