TY - CONF A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Karafiludis, Stephanos A1 - Pimentel, C. A1 - Montes Hernandez, G A1 - Kochovski, Z A1 - Bienert, Ralf A1 - Weimann, Karin A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Scoppola, E A1 - Van Driessche, A T1 - Solution-driven processing of calcium sulfate: the mechanism of the reversible transformation of gypsum to bassanite in brines N2 - Calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4ᐧ0.5H2O), also known as bassanite, has been used as a precursor to produce gypsum (dihydrate, CaSO4ᐧ2H2O) for various construction and decorative purposes since prehistoric times. The main route to obtain hemihydrate is a thermal treatment of gypsum at temperatures typically between 150 °C and 200 °C to remove some of the structural water. In this contribution, we introduce (Fig. 1) a more efficient and sustainable method (T < 100 °C) that enables the direct, rapid, and reversibly conversion of gypsum to bassanite using reusable high salinity aqueous solutions (brines with c[NaCl] > 4 M). The optimum conditions for the efficientproduction of bassanite in a short time (< 5 min) involve the use of brines with c(NaCl) > 4 M and maintaining a temperature, T > 80 °C. When the solution containing bassanite crystals is cooled down to around room temperature, eventually gypsum is formed. When the temperature is raised again to T > 80 °C, bassanite is rapidly re-precipitated. This contrasts with the typical behaviour of the bassanite phase in low salt environments. Traditionally, hemihydrate is obtained through a solid state thermal treatment because bassanite is considered to be metastable with respect to gypsum and anhydrite in aqueous solutions, and therefore gypsum-to-bassanite conversion should not occur in water. Its very occurrence actually contradicts numerical thermodynamic predictions regarding solubility of calcium sulfate phases. By following the evolution of crystalline phases with in situ and time-resolved X-ray diffraction/scattering and Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrated that the phase stability in brines at elevated temperatures is inaccurately represented in the thermodynamic databases. Most notably for c(NaCl) > 4 M, and T > 80 °C gypsum becomes readily more soluble than bassanite, which induces the direct precipitation of the latter from gypsum. The fact that these transformations are controlled by the solution provides extensive opportunities for precise manipulation of crystal formation. Our experiments confirmed that bassanite remained the sole crystalline structure for many hours before reverting into gypsum. This property is extremely advantageous for practical processing and efficient crystal extraction in industrial scenarios. T2 - Granada Münster Discussion Meeting GMDM 10 CY - Münster, Germany DA - 29.11.2023 KW - Gypsum KW - Bassanite KW - Calcium sulfate KW - Recycling KW - Scattering PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59162 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Van Driessche, A. E. S. T1 - Particle-mediated origins of mesocrystalline disorder in calcium sulfate single crystals N2 - Calcium sulfate minerals are abundant in natural and engineered environments and they exist in the form of three hydrates: gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4·0.5H2O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Due to their relevance in natural and industrial processes, the formation pathways of these calcium sulfate phases from aqueous solution have been the subject of intensive research1. The state-of-the-art of the calcium sulfate formation mechanisms builds upon and goes beyond what we have come to appreciate in the astounding intricacy of other mineral formation processes from ions in aqueous solutions. The original, and rather naive, 'textbook' image of these phenomena, stemming from the adaptation of classical nucleation and growth theories, has increased in complexity due to the discovery of a variety of precursor and intermediate species2. These include solute clusters (e.g. prenucleation clusters, PNCs), liquid(-like) phases, as well as amorphous and nanocrystalline solids etc.. In this context, a number of studies have already revealed that nucleation in the CaSO4-H2O system is non-classical, where the formation of the different crystalline phases involves several steps including a common amorphous precursor1, 3, 4. In this contribution we show that the formation of the amorphous phase involves the aggregation of small primary particles into larger disordered aggregates exhibiting a "brick-in-the-wall" structure5, 6. The actual crystallization occurs by the restructuring and coalescence of the particles ("bricks") into a given calcium sulfate phase depending on the physicochemical conditions of the solution. Importantly, the rearrangement process does not continue until a (nearly-)perfect homogeneous single crystal is obtained. Instead it comes to a stop, or at least significantly slows down. Such a process thus yields a final imperfect mesocrystal, composed of smaller domains rather than a continuous crystal structure, within which the domains are separated by an amorphous (i.e. less ordered) calcium sulfate phase. Hence, the non-classical crystallization process of CaSO4 yields a final imperfect mesocrystal with an overall morphology resembling that of a single crystal, yet composed of smaller nano-domains. Importantly, these observations reveal that organic-free calcium sulfate mesocrystals grown by a particle mediated-pathway preserve in the final crystal structure a “memory” or “imprint” of their non-classical nucleation process, something that has been overlooked until now. Furthermore, the nano-scale misalignment of the structural sub-units within these crystals can propagate through the length-scales, and be expressed macroscopically as misaligned zones/domains in large single crystals (Fig. 1). Indeed, by considering large anhydrite crystals from the famous Naica Mine (“Cueva de los cristales”) we observed a suite of correlated self-similar void defects spanning multiple length-scales7 (Fig 2). These flaws, in the macroscopic crystal, stem from “seeds of imperfection” originating from a particle-mediated nucleation pathway. Hence, building a crystal could be viewed as Nature stacking blocks in a game of Tetris, whilst slowly forgetting the games core concept and failing to fill rows completely. T2 - Granada Münster Discussion Meeting (GMDM) CY - Granda, Spain DA - 30.11.2022 KW - Anhydrite KW - Mesocrystals KW - Calcium sulfate KW - Bassanite KW - Gypsum PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56476 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Mishmastnehi, Moslem A1 - Stawski, Tomasz T1 - Crystals of Gypsum in Hands of Masters N2 - The microstructure of most Seljuk and Ilkhanid stucco decorations consists of micrometer-sized crystals of gypsum. The stucco-masters of these periods (neither nowadays stucco-masters) were not able to directly control the properties of these tiny crystals with their hands or centimeter-sized tools. There are, however, traces of chaîne opératoire accumulated in the materialistic body of these pieces, some of which could be explored through an interdisciplinary approach. Such an investigation requires very careful in situ observation of the macrostructure, and scientific analyses of the material to discover part of the production process for each body of stucco. Furthermore, there are deterioration factors, some of which are not yet fully understood, and should be identified using modern analytical instruments. These damaging factors could easily affect the micro and macro structure of a stucco decoration, influencing our interpretation. The concept of chaîne opératoire reframes our questions about the production process and probable dating technique of Seljuk and Ilkhanid stuccoes, while analyses of labmade replicas and historic materials enhance our understanding and interpretation of these materials. Here we present the results of such a study for a large body of Seljuk and Ilkhanid stucco decorations at various sites in Iran, and present the potential of this approach as a new perspective in this field of research. T2 - Stucco in the Architecture of Iran and Neighbouring Lands CY - Bamberg, Germany DA - 04.05.2022 KW - Gypsum KW - Stuccos KW - Crystallization PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-54782 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -