Habit modification of calcium carbonate in the presence of malic acid

The ability of malic acid to control calcium carbonate morphology has been investigated by aging calcium chloride solution in the presence of urea in a 90 °C bath. Malic acid favors the formation of calcite. A transition from single block to aggregate with special morphology occurs upon increasing malic acid concentration. The morphological development of CaCO3 crystal obviously depends on the starting pH. CaCO3 crystal grows from spindle seed to dumbbell in the pH regime from 7 to 11; while it evolves from spindle seed, through peanut, to sphere at pH=11.5. Both dumbbell and sphere consist of rods that are elongated along c-axis and capped with three smooth, well-defined rhombic {1 0 4} faces. A tentative growth mechanism is proposed based on the fractal model suggested by R. Kniep and S. Busch [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 35 (1996) 2624].