Cross-linking oligomers observed in calcium carbonate using liquid TEM

Reporting in Nature, researchers from Zhejiang University and Xiamen University have demonstrated the growth of continuous monolith structure in calcium carbonate by cross-linking ionic oligomers using Hummingbird Liquid cell TEM holder. The method, which the authors refer to as non-classical crystallization, can be used to synthesize large quantities of inorganic oligomers, similar to what is currently achieved in polymeric materials by cross-linking monomers of oligomers. Additionally, the cross-linked oligomeric precursors can be systematically moulded into different shapes allowing engineering of single-crystalline materials including additive manufacturing.

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Reference:

Zhaoming Liu, Changyu Shao, Biao Jin, Zhisen Zhang, Yueqi Zhao, Xurong Xu and Ruikang Tang. “Crosslinking ionic oligomers as conformable precursors to calcium carbonate,” Nature (2019).