Controlled synthesis of hollow calcite microspheres modulated by polyacrylic acid and sodium dodecyl sulfonate

Hollow CaCO3 microspheres were successfully synthesized through the precipitation reaction of Na2CO3 with CaCl2 in the presence of polyacrylic acid (PAA) and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) at 80 degrees C. The concentration of SDS is an important factor to control the synthesis of hollow CaCO3 microspheres. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the hollow CaCO3 microsphere consists of calcite crystals. The pearl-necklace model of PAA/SDS micellar aggregates serves as the spherical templates to generate hollow microspheres of CaCO3 crystals in the precipitation system. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.