Novel Method for Generation of Additive Free High-Energy Crystal Faces and Their Reconstruction in Solution

Additive-free high-energy faces of CaCO3 in the calcite modification were synthesized and found to reconstruct fast into the stable (104) faces in solution within 2 h, which is not observed in the bad solvent ethanol. (104) faces can be detected by single molecule force spectroscopy. A novel embedding process of calcite crystals with defined exposed surfaces generated on a self-assembled surfactant monolayer into a silica monolith is described as well as the time-resolved analysis of the reconstruction of unstabilized high-energy surfaces, which is faster than assumed from the equilibrium Wulff rule.