Morphogenesis of the Na3(CO3HCO3)·2H2O Matrix-Mediated on Polyaminosiloxane

We report the matrix-mediated mineralization of Na3(CO3HCO3)·2H2O at the air interface of NaOH-containing poly(γ-aminopropyl triethoxysilane) matrixes, which are exposed to a warm and humid mixture of CO2 and air (∼37 °C; relative humidity (RH) ∼ 100%; CO2 ∼ 40 000 ppm) for <10 s followed by extended exposure to ambient conditions with RH in the range 50−60%. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical microscopy are used to characterize the surface and topology, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and powder X-ray diffraction are used to determine the chemical composition and crystal structure. These results enable us to elucidate fundamental aspects of the mineralization process.