Biomimetic Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite in Presence of Imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic Acid Grafted Chitosan for Removing Chromium(VI)

In order to biomimetic synthesize hydroxyapatite similar to natural bone. Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is biomimetic synthesized in simulated body fluid (SBF) by addition of imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid grafted chitosan (IDACS). The effect of molar ratio of chitosan (CS) to imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (IDA) on preparation of HAP was investigated. The structure, size, and crystal phase of the obtained hydroxyapatite were observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the molar ratio of CS to IDA is 1 : 3, the temperature is 37.0°C, the aging time is 48 h, the synthesized nanorod-like hydroxyapatite with diameter 20–30 nm, and length ranging from 75 to 120 nm presents excellent phase, which disperses well and is similar to the natural bone of HAP. The obtained HAP can be used to remove chromium(VI) by the orthogonal experiments, and the results indicated that the removal rate can reach 95.66% under the optimum conditions. These results suggest that the morphology of the obtained HAP is more affected by the material ratio of chitosan to imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid than its structure, and the obtained HAP can effectively remove Cr(VI), which provides a novel method for biomimetic synthesis of other biomaterials and application in the water purification.

Bio-inspired synthetic approaches: from hierarchical, hybrid supramolecular assemblies to CaCO3-based microspheres

A bio-inspired synthetic approach to unprecedented hybrid supramolecular assemblies [Ca(Me₂hda)(H₂O)₃]·H₂O (1) and [Ca(C₁₂hda)(H₂O)₂]·H₂O (2), that are stabilized by iminodiacetate-substituted organic ligands is reported. The results of the single-crystal X-ray analysis of 1 further allowed the use of electron microscopy to verify the supramolecular structure of the fibrous assemblies of 2 that incorporate extended alkyl-substituted ligand derivatives. 2 reveals interesting features that distinguish these soft structures from purely inorganic, brittle materials: meshes of nanobelts transform on solid supports to form homogeneous films covering extended, micro-sized areas. The use of the reported ligand system as a habit modifier for CaCO₃ results in hierarchical calcite aggregates. The structure-influencing effects of the ligands and their supramolecular assemblies promote the formation of calcite disks that tessellate into hollow microspheres that contain distinctive openings.