Fabrication of novel core-shell microspheres consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes and CaCO 3 through biomimetic mineralization

Abstract

Calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) in the presence of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) /fullerodendron supramolecular nanocomposites was crystallized with a CO 2 diffusion method under ambient conditions and in aqueous environments to produce monodisperse spherical SWCNT/CaCO 3 hybrids with a core-shell structure. The crystals nucleate at the carboxyl groups on the surface of the SWCNT/fullerodendron supramolecular nanocomposites grow around a spherical scaffold consisting of the SWCNTs, and finally form spherical calcite crystals embedded with and covered by the SWCNTs. Owing to of the phase transition from vaterite to calcite through a solvent-mediated process, the morphology of the microspheres is unique; the shell is primarily composed of calcite crystals of CaCO 3, and a greater amount of SWCNTs is embedded in the core moiety. © 2012 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan (SPSJ).