Understanding the nucleation of iron oxides and the underlying hydrolysis of aqueous iron species is still challenging, and molecular-level insights into the orchestrated response of water, especially at the hydrolysis interface, are lacking. We follow iron(III) hydrolysis in the presence of a synthetic bacterial iron nucleator, which is a magnetosome membrane specific peptide, by using a constant pH titration technique. Three distinct hydrolysis regimes were identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough Al(III) hydrolysis, condensation, and nucleation play pivotal roles in the synthesis of Al-based compounds and determine their chemical behavior, we still lack experimental evidence regarding the chemistry of nucleation from solution. Here, by combining advanced titration assays, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Al-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we show that highly dynamic solute prenucleation clusters (PNCs) are fundamental precursors of nanosolid formation. Chemical changes from olation to oxolation bridging within PNCs rely on the formation of tetrahedral AlO in solution and trigger phase separation at low driving force (supersaturation).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhase composition, crystal structure and morphology of biological hydroxyapatite (BHAp) extracted from human mandible bone, and carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHAp), synthesized by the chemical precipitation method, were studied by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman (R) spectroscopy techniques, combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Structural and microstructural parameters were determined through Rietveld refinement of recorded XRD data, performed using the FullProf computing program, and TEM. Microstructural analysis shows anisotropic extension along the [00l] crystallographic direction (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF© LitMetric 2025. All rights reserved.