Infilling of porous materials with various polymorphs of calcium carbonate by an electromigration technique

Recent interest in bio-inspired materials has led to the development of techniques that can be used to synthesize hierarchical structures with controlled morphology and mineralogy. One such technique investigated in this study consists of the use of electromigration and electrodeposition techniques to deposit mineral phases with controlled morphology and mineralogy by infilling a predefined porous templates. Here, the utility of precipitating various polymorphs of calcium carbonate in three-dimensional templates is demonstrated. Applied potentials and times were varied while scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to determine polymorph formed and its morphology. It was found that higher applied potentials and shorter operating times resulted in the formation of metastable polymorphs of calcium carbonate (e.g., vaterite) that infilled the porous media. Results provide insights for developing bio-inspired composite materials for various structural and medical applications, such as synthetic bone.