Formation process of sheets and helical forms consisting of strontium carbonate fibrous crystals with silicate

Strontium carbonate grown in silica gel showed a variety of complex morphologies including sheets and spirals associated with biogenetic products. The non-crystallographic architecture had a hierarchical structure consisting of nanoscale needle-like building blocks enveloped with a silicate sheath. By monitoring the time-dependent growth, a spherical cluster of the fibrous crystals was transformed into the highly ordered morphologies with strange outgrowths in the progressive stages. The unusual morphologies were achieved with a reduction of the subunit size and restriction of the growth direction by selective adsorption of silicate anions on the specific crystal surfaces of the carbonate crystals.