The impact of surface roughness on calcite (chalk/lime mineral) growth rates

What is it about?

We used computational chemistry methods to determine how often water molecules at the calcite surface are replaced by water molecules from the solution. We observed variations of up to two orders of magnitude with surface topography (roughness). Such water-exchange events control (limit) processes such as mineral growth and therefore our results help to predict different mineral growth rates for differently sized and shaped particles.

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Why is it important?

Limescale formation can be a serious problem in industrial and household appliances. Our results show that rough limescale (calcite) surfaces will grow a hundred times faster than smooth surface. The growth rate model derived will help to better predict calcite growth rates.