Facile synthesis of vaterite fine powder CaCO3 from padalarang natural limestone with pH modifying via fine-bubble carbonation

UNPAD Team Converts Local Limestone into Nano-Vaterite for Health & Personal-Care Applications (SDG 3 & SDG 12)
A Universitas Padjadjaran team demonstrates a fine-bubble carbonation route to transform Padalarang natural limestone (~95% CaCO₃) into vaterite fine powder. By tuning acidity with HCl, the process reaches up to 93% vaterite at 0.04 M HCl, while maintaining nano-scale Z-average ~114.8–118.2 nm and spherical morphology—a sweet spot for oral/dental and drug-delivery uses. The solvent system (95% methanol / 5% water) and controlled carbonation (CO₂ 1 L·min⁻¹, 300 rpm, 20±3 °C, 2 h) enable rapid nucleation of the metastable polymorph.

Read the open-access article: https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/add66d