Abstract
The synthesis of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals in the presence of bacteria Escherichia coliform (E. coli) was investigated. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffractometry. The results showed that calcite spherical superstructures constructed from small rhombohedral building units were formed with bacteria, and the particles are much larger than those formed without bacteria. The formation mechanism of CaCO3 crystals in the presence of E. coli is explored, suggesting that the bacterial biomolecules especially proteins may induce the nucleation, growth, and aggregation of CaCO3 crystals.
Acknowledgments
This work is supported by National Science Foundation of China (20871001, 21002096), Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (10040606Q58, 11040606M41), the Science Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of Higher Education of Anhui Province (2011SQRL141, 2011SQRL142), and Project of Huangshan University (2008xkjq018, 2010xkjq001).