Compositional analysis of copper–silica precipitation tubes
- 6 November 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
- Vol. 9 (1), 110-116
- https://doi.org/10.1039/b612982j
Abstract
Silica gardens consist of hollow tubular structures that form from salt crystals seeded into silicate solution. We investigate the structure and elemental composition of these tubes in the context of a recently developed experimental model that allows quantitative analyses based on predetermined reactant concentrations and flow rates. In these experiments, cupric sulfate solution is injected into large volumes of waterglass. The walls of the resulting tubular structures have a typical width of 10 µm and are gradient materials. Micro-Raman spectroscopy along with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence data identify amorphous silica and copper(II) hydroxide as the main compounds within the inner and outer tube surfaces, respectively. Upon heating the blueish precipitates to approximately 150 °C, the material turns black as copper(II) hydroxide decomposes to copper(II) oxide. Moreover, we present high resolution transmission electron micrographs that reveal polycrystalline morphologies.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- Template-assisted growth of chemical gardens: Formation of dendrite structuresColloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2006
- Silica tubes in chemical gardens: Radius selection and its hydrodynamic originEurophysics Letters, 2004
- Spontaneous Formation of Cellular Chemical System that Sustains Itself far from Thermodynamic EquilibriumThe Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2004
- Self-Assembled Silica-Carbonate Structures and Detection of Ancient MicrofossilsScience, 2003
- Gardening in SpaceAmerican Scientist, 2002
- New developments in understanding the chemistry of cement hydrationPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1983
- Studies of the growth of ?silicate gardens? and related phenomenaJournal of Materials Science, 1980
- Colloidal gardens from sodium metasilicate.Journal of Chemical Education, 1949
- Structural precipitates: The silicate garden typeJournal of Chemical Education, 1941
- XX. Experiments and observations on the dissolution of metals in acids, and their precipitations; with an account of a new compound acid menstruum, useful in some technical operations of parting metalsPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1790