Novel technique for infilling porous materials developed

Published Nov. 16, 2012
Research results show micropillars of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) formed by infilling of the polycarbonate membrane and liftoff of membrane to reveal template mineral deposit.

Research results show micropillars of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) formed by infilling of the polycarbonate membrane and liftoff of membrane to reveal template mineral deposit.

Nov. 16, 2012

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VICKSBURG, Miss.—ERDC Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory researchers, in partnership with researchers from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and the U.S. Patent Office recently published new research in the Journal of Applied Electrochemistry.

The paper, "Infilling of Porous Materials with Various Polymorphs of Calcium Carbonate by an Electromigration Technique," highlights findings from the authors' Center-Directed Research on Design and Synthesis of Bio-Inspired Nanocomposites.

Through this research, a novel technique was developed to infill porous materials with solid calcium carbonate with controlled morphology and mineralogy.

Applications of the developed technology include densification of porous materials to reduce their permeability and fabrication of 3-D mineral structures (e.g., synthetic bone).

The paper is available online at http://www.springerlink.com/content/r15784031308t0g5/.