Evidence of surface reconstruction during ‘bioinspired’ inorganic nucleation at an organic template

Abstract: X-ray diffraction studies performed during the nucleation of hydrocerussite (PbCO3 ·Pb(OH)2) from a supersaturated aqueous solution, at a floating fatty acid monolayer template, reveal (√7×√7)-R19.1° reconstruction at the (001) surface of hydrocerussite. Reordering of surface atoms into epitaxial superstructures is thought to require extremely clean surfaces (cleaned electrochemically or under UHV). At this organic–inorganic interface, the organic monolayer relaxes to form an epitaxial match with the reconstructed lattice just below it. We speculate that this lattice match, along with the ion-specific interactions of the monolayer, provide the clean nucleation environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]