Project aimed at controlling the microarchitecture in the formation of calcareous structures, through its interaction with organic matter.
Years: 2021 – 2022
Role: Research Director
Team: Carolina Pacheco (Design Director), Ignacio Erazo (Chemical advisor), Esteban Osses (Biological advisor)
Project funded by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Chile
Is it possible to print a bioceramic object from seawater and CO2? Theoretically yes, and in fact calcareous marine organisms -such as mollusks and corals- do it constantly. These materials (e.g. nacre), in addition to being formed from tremendously abundant elements, are highly resistant to compression, are produced at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, use water as a solvent, and are incorporated into the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and calcium.
These characteristics make them excellent candidates for future environmental challenges. To be able to produce them, organisms control metabolically and simultaneously: 1) the formation of calcium carbonate crystals on a microscopic scale; 2) the organization of these in a microarchitecture that confers the material its mechanical qualities; and 3) the physical forces that determine the overall shape of the structure and that give it its function. In this phenomenon, a series of highly complex biochemical and physical processes take place, of which relatively little is still known. However, some advances have been made (both in its analysis and in its mimesis) through separate paths: from disciplines such as material sciences, it has been possible to synthesize the formation of calcium carbonate crystals with an important level of control on the microscopic scale; and from the disciplines such as design, objects with a relative functionality have been built from processes such as mineralization and biomineralization, but with little or no control of the microarchitecture, and therefore of its material performance.
This research has made it possible to understand and largely control the formation of calcium carbonate crystals. In addition, we have been able to experimentally identify calcification patterns in the interaction with organic matrices, managing to determine some of the parameters that influence their morphogenesis. This has allowed us to advance in the control of the micro and macro scale in the manufacturing process of small calcareous objects.
