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The effect of magnesium substitution on the hardness of synthetic and biogenic calcite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2012

Miki E. Kunitake ,
Shefford P. Baker  and
Lara A. Estroff
Miki E. Kunitake
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Shefford P. Baker*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Lara A. Estroff*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
*
*Address all correspondence to Shefford P. Baker and Lara A. Estroff at spb14@cornell.edu and lae37@cornell.edu
*Address all correspondence to Shefford P. Baker and Lara A. Estroff at spb14@cornell.edu and lae37@cornell.edu
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Abstract

Biogenic minerals often contain inorganic and organic impurities that are believed to harden and toughen the material. However, because of the complexity of these systems, it is difficult to deconvolute the effect of each of these impurities on the hardness of the material. We have created single-crystal samples with a range of magnesium concentrations and measured their hardness while controlling for orientation. We find that hardness increases linearly with magnesium content and that magnesium impurities could account for ~20% of the increased hardness in biogenic calcite from the mollusk Atrina rigida when compared with pure geologic calcite.

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Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 113 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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