The Influence of Different Surfactants on Morphology of Nano Calcium Sulfate

A key factor of preparing different morphologies of nanometer calcium sulfate (CaSO4) is to select proper surfactants for forming compounding reverse micelle microemulsion, which makes calcium sulfate crystals grow with an optimal template effect of reverse micelle. It was found that flake-like, rod-like and sphere-like nanometer calcium sulfates were obtained in reverse microemulsion systems of OP-10 / cyclohexane / n-pentanol / water, AEO / cyclohexane / n-pentanol / water and AOT+OP-10 / cyclohexane / n-pentanol / water, respectively. The morphology and particle size were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The morphology of nanometer calcium sulfate by some other surfactants of reverse micelle microemulsion systems was briefly introduced. Furthermore, how the critical packing parameter (P) of different surfactant molecules influence the morphology of nanometer calcium sulfate was also analyzed.