Polymer-mediated growth of crystals and mesocrystals.
Polymers are important additives for the control of mineralization reactions in both biological and bioinspired mineralization. The reason is that they allow for a number of interactions with the growing crystals and even amorphous minerals. These can substantially influence the way the mineral grows on several levels. Already in the prenucleation phase, polymers can control the formation of prenucleation clusters and subsequently the nucleation event. Also, polymers can control whether the further crystallization follows a classical or nonclassical particle-mediated growth path. In this chapter, the main ways in which polymers can be used to control a crystallization reaction will be highlighted. In addition, polymers that are useful for this purpose and the experimental conditions suitable for directing a crystallization reaction into the desired direction through the use of polymers will be described.
['Cölfen|Helmut|H|']
D001464:Barium D017609:Barium Compounds D002119:Calcium Carbonate D002254:Carbonates D002712:Chlorides D003460:Crystallization D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions D057139:Nanofibers D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
Mesocrystal Classical crystallization Double hydrophilic block copolymer Face-selective adsorption Morphogenesis Nonclassical crystallization Polyelectrolyte