Abstract:
The lateral alignment of {012} habit-modified
calcite crystals with respect to a carboxylic acid terminated self-assembled
monolayer (SAM) of thiols has been determined. The crystals were grown
from a Kitano solution (pH 5.6-6.0), and the samples were investigated
with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and polarization
microscopy. For the first time, a lattice match in one direction, which
is the nearest neighbor direction of the SAM and the calcite (100) direction,
has been experimentally shown. The experimental results are in good agreement
with the theoretical models proposed in previous work, and it is expected
that this method can be applied to similar systems where inorganic crystals
nucleate with a preferred orientation to a SAM.