TY - JOUR A1 - Karafiludis, Stephanos A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Kochovski, Z. A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Stawski, Tomasz T1 - Ni- and Co-Struvites: Revealing Crystallization Mechanisms and Crystal Engineering toward Applicational Use of Transition Metal Phosphates N2 - Industrial and agricultural waste streams (waste water, sludges, tailings, etc.) which contain high concentrations of NH4+, PO43–, and transition metals are environmentally harmful and toxic pollutants. At the same time, phosphorous and transition metals constitute highly valuable resources. Typically, separate pathways have been considered to extract hazardous transition metals or phosphate independently from each other. Investigations on the simultaneous removal of multiple components have been carried out only to a limited extent. Here, we report the synthesis routes for Ni- and Co-struvites (NH4MPO4·6H2O, M = Ni2+ and Co2+), which allow for P, ammonia, and metal co-precipitation. By evaluating different reaction parameters, the phase and stability of transition metal struvites as well as their crystal morphologies and sizes could be optimized. Ni-struvite is stable in a wide reactant concentration range and at different metal/phosphorus (M/P) ratios, whereas Co-struvite only forms at low M/P ratios. Detailed investigations of the precipitation process using ex situ and in situ techniques provided insights into the crystallization mechanisms/crystal engineering of these materials. M-struvites crystallize via intermediate colloidal amorphous nanophases, which subsequently aggregate and condense to final crystals after extended reaction times. However, the exact reaction kinetics of the formation of a final crystalline product varies significantly depending on the involved metal cation in the precipitation process: several seconds (Mg) to minutes (Ni) to hours (Co). The achieved level of control over the morphology and size makes precipitation of transition metal struvites a promising method for direct metal recovery and binding them in the form of valuable phosphate raw materials. Under this paradigm, the crystals can be potentially up-cycled as precursor powders for electrochemical or (electro)catalytic applications, which require transition metal phosphates. KW - Crystallization KW - Struvite KW - Nickel KW - Cobalt KW - Phosphorous recovery KW - Up-cycling KW - Aqueous synthesis PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00284 VL - 22 IS - 7 SP - 4305 EP - 4315 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington D.C. AN - OPUS4-55286 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Wolf, Jakob A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Smart Machines, New Materials, Automated Future N2 - In pursuing the automated synthesis of metal nanoparticles (NPs), the capabilities of the “Chemputer” are deployed, for the first time, into the field of inorganic chemistry. Metal NPs have a substantial impact across different fields of science, such as photochemistry, energy conversion, and medicine. Among the commonly used nanoparticles, silver NPs are of special interest due to their antibacterial properties and applications in sensing and catalysis. However, many of the methods used to synthesize Ag NPs often do not result in well-defined products, the main obstacles being high polydispersity or a lack of particle size tunability. The Chemputer is a modular, automated platform developed by the Cronin group for execution of multi-step, solution based organic synthesis. The machine has been further implemented at BAM, where we used this setup to perform automated organic syntheses, autonomously controlled by feedback derived from online NMR. In the Chemputer liquids can be transferred across a backbone, constructed from HPLC selection valves and syringe pumps. The Chemputer operates in a batch mode, common laboratory devices, such as heaters and glassware like round bottom flasks, are connected to the backbone, forming reaction modules. Solutions can be manipulated in these modules, and as all operations are controlled through a software script, reproducibility among individual syntheses is high. Likewise, any adjustments of the synthesis conditions, if required, are straightforward to implement and are documented in the reaction log file and a code versioning system. We characterised Chemputer-synthesized nanoparticles using small-angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering and further methods, showing that automated synthesis can yield colloids with reproducible and tuneable properties. The approach is an important first step towards the automation of nanoparticle syntheses in a modular, multipurpose platform. The modularity of the Chemputer opens many possibilities for the synthesis of a variety of different NP morphologies and sizes and potentially more complex structures. These advances and further work can help in the general investigations of silver nanoparticles by supplying a reliable and reproducible method of their synthesis and removing tacit knowledge by significantly reducing the experimental bias. T2 - Analytica 2022 CY - Munich, Germany DA - 21.06.2022 KW - Automated synthesis KW - Nanoparticles PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55198 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 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Van Driessche, A. 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. 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. 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 - ECCG: European Conference on Crystal Growth 7 CY - Paris, France DA - 25.07.2022 KW - Anhydrite KW - SAXS KW - Single crystal KW - Mesocrystal PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56276 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Van Dreissche, A. T1 - Particle-mediated origins of mesocrystallinity in calcium sulfate single crystals N2 - Calcium sulfate minerals are abundant in natural and engineered environments in the form of three phases: gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4·0.5H2O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Due to their relevance in natural and industrial processes, the formation pathways of these phases from aqueous solution have been the subject of intensive research, a number of studies have already revealed that nucleation in the CaSO4-H2O system is non-classical, The formation of the different crystalline phases involves several steps including a common amorphous precursor. 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" structure. The actual crystallization occurs by the restructuring and coalescence of the "bricks" into a given calcium sulfate phase depending on the physicochemical conditions of the solution. Such a process yields a final imperfect mesocrystal, composed of smaller domains rather than a continuous single crystal structure. These observations reveal that organic-free calcium sulfate mesocrystals grown by a particle mediated-pathway might preserve in the final crystal structure an “imprint” of their growth pathways. Indeed, by considering large anhydrite crystals from the famous Naica Mine we observed a suite of correlated self-similar void defects spanning multiple length-scales. These flaws, in the macroscopic crystal, stem from “seeds of imperfection” originating from an original particle-mediated growth. 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 - GeoMinKöln 2022 CY - Cologne, Germany DA - 11.09.2022 KW - Anhydrite KW - Mesocrystals KW - Calcium sulfate PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56277 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Van Driessche, A. E. S. T1 - Editorial for special issue "Formation of sulfate minerals in natural and industrial environments" N2 - Sulfate is abundant in the environment and, as a result, sulfate-containing minerals constitute a large and important focus of research. These minerals play an important role in many geochemical and industrial processes, including the sulfur cycle, the construction industry (e.g., plaster of Paris), fault tectonics, acid mine drainage, and even rare biominerals. Important to note are the abundant amounts of sulfate (minerals) located on the surface of Mars, and in meteorites, extending the relevance of this mineral group beyond the realm of our planet. In geological systems, sulfate minerals such as barite are also important for indicating certain sedimentation environments. In this regard, sulfate deposits can be used to evaluate the redox state of ancient oceans during early Earth time periods. KW - Calcium sulfate KW - Sulfates PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-546794 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030299 SN - 2075-163X VL - 12(3) IS - Special issue "Formation of sulfate minerals in natural and industrial environments" SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-54679 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Martins, Ines A1 - Al-Sabbagh, Dominik A1 - Bentrup, U. A1 - Marquardt, Julien A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Scoppola, E. A1 - Kraus, Werner A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Yusenko, Kirill A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Formation Mechanism of a Nano-Ring of Bismuth Cations and Mono-Lacunary Keggin-Type Phosphomolybdate N2 - A new hetero-bimetallic polyoxometalate (POM) nano-ring was synthesized in a one-pot procedure. The structure consists of tetrameric units containing four bismuth-substituted monolacunary Keggin anions including distorted [BiO8] cubes. The nano-ring is formed via self-assembly from metal precursors in aqueous acidic medium. The compound (NH4)16[(BiPMo11O39)4] ⋅ 22 H2O; (P4Bi4Mo44) was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS), Raman spectroscopy, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF), and thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry mass spectrometry (TG-DSC-MS). The formation of the nano-ring in solution was studied by time-resolved in situ small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and in situ EXAFS measurements at the Mo−K and the Bi−L3 edge indicating a two-step process consisting of condensation of Mo-anions and formation of Bi−Mo-units followed by a rapid self-assembly to yield the final tetrameric ring structure. KW - Bismuth KW - In situ EXAFS KW - In situ SAXS/WAXS KW - Lacunary Keggin ion KW - Polyoxometalates KW - Self-assembly PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-546823 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202200079 SN - 0947-6539 VL - 28 IS - 27 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-54682 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Stawski, Tomasz T1 - Scattering is a powerful tool to follow nucleation and growth of minerals from solutions N2 - In recent years, we have come to appreciate the astounding intricacy of the formation process of minerals from ions in aqueous solutions. The original ‘textbook’ image o 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 species [e.g. 1], including solute clusters (e.g. prenucleation clusters PNCs), liquid(-like) phases, as well as amorphous and nanocrystalline solids etc. In general, these precursor or intermediate species constitute different, often short-lived points along the pathway from dissolved ions to the final solids (typically crystals in this context). In this regard synchrotron-based scattering (SAXS/WAXS/HEXD appears to be the perfect tool to follow in situ and in a time-resolved manner the crystallization pathways because of the temporal and spatial length scales that can be directly accessed with these techniques. Here, I show how we used scattering to probe the crystallization mechanisms o calcium sulfate. CaSO4 minerals (i.e. gypsum, anhydrite and bassanite) are widespread in natural and industrial environments. During the last several years, a number o studies have revealed indeed that nucleation in the CaSO4-H2O system is non-classical My SAXS data demonstrate that gypsum precipitation, involves formation and aggregation of sub-3 nm primary species. These species constitute building blocks o an amorphous precursor phase [2]. Further, I show how in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can be combined to derive the atomic structure of the primary CaSO4 clusters seen at small-angles [3]. fitted several plausible structures to the derived pair distribution functions and explored their dynamic properties using unbiased MD simulations based on polarizable force fields. Finally, based on combined SAXS/WAXS, broad-q-range measurements, show that the process of formation of bassanite, a less hydrated form of CaSO4, is very similar to the formation of gypsum: it also involves the aggregation of small primary species into larger disordered aggregates [4]. Based on these recent insights I formulated a tentative general model for calcium sulfate precipitation from solution. This model involves primary species that are formed through the assembly of multiple Ca2+ and SO42- ions into nanoclusters. These nanoclusters assemble into poorly ordered (i.e. amorphous) hydrated aggregates which in turn undergo ordering into coherent crystalline units of either gypsum o bassanite (and possibly anhydrite). Determination of the structure and (meta)stability of the primary species is important from both a fundamental, e.g. establishing a general non-classical nucleation model, and applied perspective; e.g. allow for an improved design of additives for greater control of the nucleation pathway T2 - BAM - Abteilungsseminar 6.3 CY - Online meeting DA - 21.02.2021 KW - Scattering KW - SAXS/WAXS KW - Calcium sulfate PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53713 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Scoppola, E. A1 - Jha, D. A1 - Morales, L. F. G. A1 - Moya, A. A1 - Wirth, R. A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Van Driessche, A. E. S. T1 - Supplementary data set for "Seeds of imperfection rule the mesocrystalline disorder in natural anhydrite single crystals" N2 - In recent years, we have come to appreciate the astounding intricacy of the formation process of minerals from ions in aqueous solutions. In this context, a number of studies have revealed that nucleation in the calcium sulfate system is non-classical, involving the aggregation and reorganization of nanosized prenucleation particles. In a recent work we have shown that this particle-mediated nucleation pathway is actually imprinted in the resultant single micron-sized CaSO4 crystals. This property of CaSO4 minerals provides us with an unique opportunity to search for evidence of non-classical nucleation pathways in geological environments. In particular, we focused on the quintessential single crystals of anhydrite extracted from the Naica mine in Mexico. We elucidated the growth history from this mineral sample by mapping growth defects at different length scales. Based on these data we argue that the nano-scale misalignment of the structural sub-units observed in the initial calcium sulfate crystal seed propagate through different length-scales both in morphological, as well as strictly crystallographic aspects, eventually causing the formation of large mesostructured single crystals of anhydrite. Hence, the nanoparticle mediated nucleation mechanism introduces a 'seed of imperfection', which leads to a macroscopic single crystal, in which its fragments do not fit together at different length-scales in a self-similar manner. Consequently, anisotropic voids of various sizes are formed with very well-defined walls/edges. But, at the same time the material retains its essential single crystal nature. These findings shed new light on the longstanding concept of crystal structure. KW - Calcium sulfate KW - Mesocrystal KW - Anhydrite PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4943234 PB - Zenodo CY - Geneva AN - OPUS4-53765 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -