Nanoconfined Calcite Growth in situ. Microfluidic Channel, Growth rims, Cavity, Crystallation pressure and Disjoining pressure

Abstract

Rocks, ceramics, metals and many other materials are made up of crystals. More than 150 years ago scientists realized that when crystals grow inside a confining solid it may exert a force on the confining solid. This "force of crystallization" is known to fracture and lift rock and damage buildings and monuments. Although we can easily calculate the maximum possible force of crystallization we know very little about how large it will be in real situations. This is due to the difficulty of performing well controlled experiments where the basic processes of crystallization are monitored. Very few such experiments have been performed in the 150 year history of the force of crystallization. Lei Li has used microfluidics to control nucleation and growth of one of the most common crystals on Earth: calcite. He has used optical microscopy with nanometer resolution to measure the process of growth. His unprecedented control of the growth conditions and high resolution measurement method has yielded surprising results that question theoretical models and the accepted calcite growth rates measured by other methods.