Structural development of mercaptophenol self-assembled monolayers and the overlying mineral phase during templated CaCo[O.sub.3] crystallization from a transient amorphous film

The structural evolution of the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) and mineral are analyzed by examining the changes in order and bonding of mercaptophenol (MP) SAMs on Au(111) during the initial stages of mineral formation as well as the mechanism of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) to calcite transformation during template-directed crystallization. A preferential face of nucleation is seen for crystallization of calcite from ACC on the SAM surfaces despite the static structural disorder.