Control of Interfacial Properties Through Tailor-Made Additives

Control of Interfacial Properties Through Tailor-Made Additives 

In order to be effective, it is important that surface modifiers are strongly adsorbed onto an available crystal face of a particle [62]. Nature uses such mechanisms in biomineraHzation, e.g., in the formation of mussel shells or in the protection of hardy plants against frost. In both cases, additives control the crystal growth of either calcium carbonate [63] or ice through selective adsorption of tailor-made proteins on certain crystal faces [64]. 

Face-selective additives can today be designed to fit into the structures of singlecrystal faces. Their effectiveness is determined by the energy of interaction between the additive and the crystal face. In simple cases, this energy can be calculated for different positions of the additive on the crystal face. 

Gavezzotti (Ed), Theoretical Aspects and Computer Modeling of the Molecular SoUd State, Wiley, Chichester, 1997. 

Biirgi and J. Dunitz (Eds.), Structure Correlation, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1994. 

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Control of Interfacial Properties Through Tailor-made Additives I 121... 

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