Everyone
should be familiar with processes that precipitate materials shaped as spheres,
cubes, rods and needles.
It is also not unusual
to see rhombohedra, whiskers, tubes, flowers and rosette particles of
inorganic/organic materials in the nano- or micron-scale.
But, how about an Aspirin®
pill-shaped, micron-size particle?
You know - round, with
slightly out-curving sides; i.e., biconvex.
Never seen that kind
of a precipitate?
Synthesis of
monodisperse, biconvex pill-shaped microparticles, microtablets or micropills,
precipitated directly from an aqueous solution, has not yet been reported for
any natural or man-made materials.
Find a link here (A. C. Tas, Int. J. Appl. Ceram. Technol., 6, 53-59, 2009
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-7402.2008.02252.x/full)
to synthesize such micropills
of CaCO3, which is a biocompatible and non-toxic material.
Such micropills may find numerous applications
from biomaterials to electronics, and MEMS applications as well.
Contact: Prof. A. Cuneyt Tas, PhD c_tas@hotmail.com www.cuneyttas.com
