RT Journal Article
T1 The growth of CaCO3 polymorphs in the presence of As(v): stabilization of the vaterite phase
A1 Sánchez Migallón, Juan Morales
A1 Gerding, J.
A1 Compaña Prieto, José Manuel
A1 Astilleros García-Monge, José Manuel
A1 Fernández Díaz, María Lourdes
A1 Gómez Barreiro, Juan
AB Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) polymorphs are some of the most abundant minerals in natural environments on the Earth's surface. They are normally linked to fields including biomineralization, global CO2 exchange or pollutant remediation due to the strong surface interaction with heavy metals in the environment. The aim of this work is to study the crystallization of CaCO3 through precipitation experiments from aqueous solutions in the presence of different amounts of As(V), thus evaluating the capacity of the precipitating phases to remove As from solutions. Surprisingly, the results confirmed that, although the uptake mechanism operates relatively well, decreasing the initial concentration of arsenic in all the experiments conducted, the wonder is that the presence of this element controls the crystallization of calcium carbonate polymorphs by inhibiting the crystallization of calcite and stabilizing the vaterite, which is the least stable phase among those two. The combination of several techniques allowed us to confirm the increased uptake of As by precipitates from increased As-bearing supersaturated solutions. The gradual disappearance of calcite and the persistence of vaterite from precipitates in which As is present suggest that a potential incorporation of As into a crystalline CaCO3 polymorph would be more likely in the vaterite. Even though the sequestering mechanism remains unclear, vaterite lattice distortions suggest that As could be absorbed inside the vaterite structure. Additionally, adsorption on the unstable polymorph would be the reason for the stabilization, by preventing its dissolution and therefore its transformation into calcite.
PB Royal Society of Chemistry
SN 2050-7887
YR 2025
FD 2025-12-24
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/133790
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/133790
LA eng
NO Morales, J., Gerding, J., Compaña, J. M., Astilleros García-Monge, J. M., Fernández-Díaz, L., & Gómez Barreiro, J. (2026). The growth of CaCO3 polymorphs in the presence of As(v): Stabilization of the vaterite phase. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 28(2), 498-509. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EM00364D
NO Chilean Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico
NO MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033
NO European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR
NO Universidad de Salamanca
DS Docta Complutense
RD 20 mar 2026