NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REPORT

9918

Progress Report

on

HYDRATED CALCIUM AND CALCIUM-SODIUM CARBONATES

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

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NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REPORT

NBS PROJECT

511.05-11-5110561

NBS REPORT

June 50, 1968 9918

Progress Report

on

HYDRATED CALCIUM AND CALCIUM-SODIUM CARBONATES

By

Walter E. Brown and Brian Dickens

* Director, Research Associate Program of the American

Dental Assoc., Dental Research Section, National Bureau

of Standards, Washington, D. C. 20254

** Research Chemist, Dental Research Section, National

Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C. 20254

This investigation was supported in part by Research Grant

DE-00572 to the American Dental Association from the

National Institute of Dental Research, and is part of the

dental research program conducted by the National Bureau of

Standards in cooperation with the Council on Dental Research

of the American Dental Association; the National Institute

of Dental Research; the Army Dental Corps; the Dental Sciences

Division, School of Aerospace Medicine, USAF; and the Veterans

IMPORTANT NOTICE

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Director of the National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST) on October 9, 2015

Administration.

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STA

for use within the Government. E and review. For this reason, the whole or in part, is not authoriz Bureau of Standards, Washington

the Report has been specifically p

accounting documents intended

jbjected to additional evaluation

isting of this Report, either in Office of the Director, National

the Government agency for which

ries for its own use.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

HYDRATED CALCIUM AND CALCIUM-SODIUM CARBONATES

Abstract

Crystallographic properties of two hydrated calcium

carbonates, CaC03 *6H2 0 and CaNa2 (C03 ) 2

* 5H2 0, are described.

Hydrated salts are of potential importance in the nucleation

and crystal growth of anhydrous salts, both jLn vitro and in

vivo , because of inter facial energy, kinetics, growth poisons

and epitaxy. CaC03 *6H2 0 has four formula weights in a cell

a = 8.87 ± .02, b = 8.23 ± .01, _c = 11.02 ± .02&, and 8. =

110.2 ± .1°, with space group C2/c. CaNa 2 (C0 3 ) 2

• 5H 2 0 (gaylussite) has four formula weights in a cell a_ = 14.36 ± .002,

b = 7.781 ± .001, c = 11.209 ± .0C2A, J3 = 127.84 ± .01°,

also with space group C2/c. The structure of CaC03 *6H2 0

contains Ca-C0 3 ion pairs isolated from each other by water

molecules. The decreases in volume associated with the forma

tion of hydrated salts from the corresponding anhydrous salts

and liquid water suggest that hydrated salts may be the stabl

forms under high hydrostatic pressure. In the ocean deeps,

the high pressures and low temperatures favor formation of

the hydrated calcium carbonates.
- 2 -

Text

The possible importance of hydrated calcium phosphates

and carbonates in biological mineralization is not adequately recognized. In calcium carbonate mineralization,

nearly all of the attention has been given to the anhydrous

salts calcite, aragonite and vaterite, which are known to

occur both simultaneously and individually in the shells

of molluscs 1 and in other biological minerals, 2 including

gallstones. 3 We report here on the crystallographic

properties of two hydrated calcium carbonates, CaC03 -6H2 0

and CaNa2

( C03 ) 3

* 5H2 0, which may act as precursors to the

formation of other salts in aqueous environments.

For reasons given below, a variety of conditions may

facilitate formation of the hydrated calcium carbonates,

rather than the anhydrous salts, and thus allow them to

participate in biological mineralization at least as precursors o The two known hydrated calcium carbonates,

CaC03 *6H2 0

4,5 and CaC03 *H2 0

5,6

, have been neglected in

this respect, possibly because of their metastability

with respect to the anhydrous salts. The salts gaylussite, 7

CaNa2 (C03 ) 2

* 5H2 0, and pirssonite, 8 CaNa2 (C0 3 ) 2

• 2H2 0, may

also be important because they are hydrated and because

they contain sodium, a common constituent of mineralization media Q
- 3 -

The conditions under which biological mineralizations

occur require the following four factors to be taken into

account

.

1. Surface energy: During nucleation and early

states of crystal growth, the interfacial energy

is a dominant factor in controlling the stability

of the particles. Measured against a vacuum, the

surface energy relates to the asymmetry of the

attractive forces on the outermost ions so that

the surface energy tends to be high when the forces

between ions are large. In hydrated salts some

of the strong electrostatic attractive forces are

reduced by intervening water molecules, and therefore

the surface energy of a hydrated salt should be less

than that of an anhydrous salt. Furthermore, water

molecules in the nucleus or crystallite reduce the

difference in composition between it and the aqueous

environment because the hydrogen bonding within the

crystal can extend to the liquid to increase the compatability of the two phases. The aqueous environment
-4-

in effect decreases the asymmetry of the attractive

forces around the ions on the particle surface. Thus,

in the early stages of growth, hydrated species should

be favored over anhydrous species because of their probably lower interfacial energy.

2. Kinetic factors: In many instances, hydrated

salts crystallize more rapidly than their anhydrous counterparts. For example, CaHP04 *2H2 0 and

Ca8 H2 (P04 ) 6 *5H2 0 are frequently formed under conditions where CaHP04 or Ca5 0H(P04 ) 3 is the stable

salt thermodynamically9

. Other things being equal,

this tendency should be greatest for small cations

of multiple valence (i.e., those with negative

entropies of dissolution) . From this point of view,

when rate is an important consideration, formation

of the hydrated calcium carbonates should be

favored over the anhydrous salts.
-5-

3. Crystal-growth poisons: Polyphosphates5

,

magnesium6 and concentrated sugar solutions 10 all

apparently repress the growth of anhydrous calcium

carbonates, and thus permit the formation by default

of the hydrated salts. Since magnesium, polyphosphates and sugars are present in biological fluids ,

they may inhibit formation of nuclei of the anhydrous

calcium carbonates in vivo and permit their growth

perhaps epitaxially or by subsequent rearrangement in

the nucleus once it has attained a critical size

for the anhydrous salt.

4. Epitaxy and heterogeneous nucleation: Most

nucleation processes are thought to be heterogeneous

rather than homogeneous. It is widely believed,

for example, that in tooth and bone, collagen and

other proteins participate in the formation of the

crystallites by reducing their surface energies

through epitaxy or heterogeneous nucleation. The

same presumably applies to calcium carbonate

mineralization. Because of their hydrophilic

nature, the proteins present at the site of in vivo
-6-

calcium carbonate mineralization should reduce the

energy of heterogeneous nucleation of a hydrated

form to a lower value than that of an anhydrous

form.

If a hydrated form acts as a precursor to an anhydrous

salt, it could control the identity, morphology and crystal

orientation of the product through epitaxy or topotaxy.

Thus it is important to know the structural details of

hydrated salts of potential biological significance. We

have determined the crystal structures of two hydrated

carbonates; some of their important features are reported

below.

Good crystals of CaNa2 (C03 ) 2

* 5H2 0 were obtained from a

gel of calcium carbonate in the presence of sodium polyphosphate and excess sodium carbonate5

.’ 11 The unit cell at room

temperature was found to be a = 14.361 ± .002, b = 7.781 ±

.001, c = 11.209 ± . 0 0 2A , and _8 = 127.84 ± .01°* The calculated density, 1.99 g/ml , assuming four formula weights

per unit cell, is the same as the reported7 density. The

extinctions h+k = 2n+l for hki , and SL = 2n+l for hoi lead

to the possible space groups C2/c and Cc. The crystal

morphology contains a center of symmetry, suggesting the

*The uncertainties quoted on cell dimensions are estimates based

on experience with the technique used for measurement. In the

authors’ opinion a conservative estimate of error will be

obtained if these uncertainties are treated as standard deviations.
-7-

centro-symmetr ic space group C2/ c which has been confirmed

by a determination of the crystal structure. An important

feature of the structure1 2 is the presence of C03 -Ca-C0 3

ion triplets, each of which is isolated from other such

ion triplets by water molecules and sodium ions.

Large tablets and rods (1-2 mm in diameter) of

CaC0 3 *6H2 0 were grown from a calcium carbonate gel after

the manner of Brooks, Clark and Thurston^ Under the

microscope, two distinct views were common: (1) Plates

with low birefringence and parallel extinction. These,

when modified by (LlC)-type faces, exhibited 2/m symmetry,

with symmetrical extinction, and the fast direction, Ng,

parallel to b; the trace of the (11Q/\£L10), 93.4°, yielded

an axial ratio a/b = 1.05; (2) Short, highly birefringent

(010) rods or plates with the slow direction, Ny, extinguishing at 17° from c in acute J3 ; these yielded J3

«=

109.4° and c/a = 1.28.

* The cell constants were determined to be a = 8.87 ±

0.02, b = 8.25 ± .01, c = 11.02 ± .02A, and J3_ = 110.2 ±

.1° at -120 °C using a Weissenberg camera modified to bathe

the crystal continuously in a stream of cold gaseous nitrogen. A superimposed aluminum powder pattern taken at room

*See footnote, previous page 0
-8-

temperature was used as a standard. The calculated density

of 1.80 g/ml, assuming four formula weights per unit cell,

compares well with the reported13 density of 1.82 g/ml.

The extinctions h+k = 2n+l for hk£ and l = 2n+l for hoi,

lead to the possible space groups C2/c and Cc. The morphology of the crystals reveals a center of symmetry consistent with the centro-symmetric space group C2/c. The

crystal structure has been determined from three-dimensiona

x-ray data 0

The outstanding feature in the structure1 2 is the

presence of isolated Ca-C03 ion pairs, each surrounded by

water molecules. This is the first instance, to our knowledge, of the existence of this ion pair in a crystalline

lattice, and should provide valuable insight into its

structure and its relationship with the water environment.

The Ca-C03 ion pair may have a significant concentration in

solutions saturated with respect to calcium carbonates1

. 4

Its lack of ionic charge suggests that it may play an

important role in diffusion through membranes in the same

way that has been suggested for Ca-S04 ion pairs1

. 5
9-

At atmospheric pressure, the reactions

(a) CaC03 (calcite) + 6Hs 0(liq.) = CaC03

* 6H2 0 ( solid)

(b) CaC03 (aragonite) + 6H2 0(liq.) = CaC03

• 6H2 0 ( solid)

(c) CaNa2 (C03 ) 2 + 5H2 0(liq.) = CaNa2 (C03 ) 2

* 5H2 0 (solid)

would be accompanied by 2Q l8 and 13 percent decreases in

volume, respectively, suggesting that at high hydrostatic

pressures (such as those that occur in the abyssal layer

of the oceans or in hydrostatic vessels) CaCO^^HgO in particular, and hydrated salts in general may be the most stable

forms

.

It is noteworthy in this connection that most deep sea

animals have little or no calcereous materials in their

skeletons 1 6 and that CaC03 is essentially absent from

sediments collected at depths greater than 5000 m

1

7

, presumably because of its increased solubility1

. 8 It has

been suggested from electron microscopic examination of

deep sea sediments that almost all the calcium carbonate

is of organic origin1

. 8 However, the possibility must be

considered that at great depths the calcium carbonates may

have been converted in part into hydrated forms which

rapidly decompose at normal temperatures and pressures

(i 0 e 0 , during sample recovery).
- 10 -

The participation of hydrated forms in nucleation should

be a fairly general phenomenon. The formation of hydrated

salts from their anhydrous counterparts and liquid water

will usually involve a reduction in total volume. Therefore,

a study of the nucleation of any sail; to be complete, should

include a search for possible hydrated precursors under high

hydrostatic pressures and low temperatures.
- 11 -

References

1. K. M. Wilbur, Chap. 8, "Shell Formation and Regeneration",

in Physiology of Mollusca, K. M. Wilbur and C. M. Yonge, Eds.,

Vol. 1, Academic Press, New York (1964), and references therein.

2. T. Pobeguin, Ann. Des Sc. Nat., Bot., _15, 29 (1954).

3. D. J. Sutor and S. E. Wooley, Science, 159 , 1113

(1968) and references therein.

4. J. Johnston, H. E. Merwin and E. D. Williamson, Amer.

J. Sci. , 41, 473 (1916)

.

5. R. Brooks, L. M. Clark and E. F. Thurston, Phil. Trans.

Roy. Soc. A243 , 145 (1951) and references therein.

6. F. Lippmann, Naturwissen, _46, 553 (1959)

.

7. C. Palache, H. Berman and C. Frondel, Dana's System of

Mineralogy, 7th Ed., Vol. II, Wiley (1951) p. 234.

8. Reference 7, p. 232.

9. W. E. Brown, Clin. Orth., 44, 205, (1966).

10 . J. E. Mackenzie, J. Chem. Soc., 123, 2409 (1923).
- 12-

11. C. R. Bury and R. Redd, J. Chem. Soc. , 1160 (1933).

12. B. Dickens and W. E. Brown, in preparation.

13. J. Hume and B. Topley, J. Chem. Soc., 2932 (1926).

14. W. F. Neuman, P. E. Morrow, T. Y. Toribara, L. J.

Casarett, B. J. Mylryan and H. C. Hodge, J. Biol. Chem.,

219 , 551 (1956)

15. M. Walser, Amer. J. Physiol., 200 , 1099 (1961).

16. H. U. Sverdrup, M. W. Johnson and R. H. Fleming,

"The Oceans", p. 808, 853, Prentice-Hall (1942).

17. G. Arrhenius in "The Sea", M. N. Hill, Ed., 3, p.

689, 691, Intersicnece (1963)

18. B. C. Heezen and A 0 So Laughton, reference 17, p. 347.

19.

W. R. Rideal, reference 17, p. 869.

II