Biomimetic synthesis of hollow microspheres of calcium carbonate crystals in the presence of polymer and surfactant

Hollow CaCO3 microspheres were successfully synthesized using sodium carbonate and calcium chloride through a precipitation reaction method at room temperature. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), together with sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS), was employed as template for the controlled growth of hollow CaCO3 microspheres. The concentration of SDS was an important factor to control the synthesis of hollow CaCO3 microspheres. It suggested that the PVP–SDS complex micelles played a key role in controlling the growth of biominerals X-ray diffraction (XRD), FESEM and TEM confirmed that hollow CaCO3 microspheres consisting of calcite crystals were synthesized In the present work, we also proposed a hypothetical mechanism for the formation process of hollow CaCO3 microspheres.