Amorphous intermediate phases are vital precursors in the crystallization of many biogenic minerals. While inherent short-range orders have been found in amorphous calcium carbonates (ACCs) relating to different crystalline forms, it has never been clarified experimentally whether such orders already exist in very small clusters less than 2 nm in size. Here, we studied the stability and structu...

In human bone, an amorphous mineral serves as a precursor to the formation of a highly substituted nanocrystalline apatite. However, the precise role of this amorphous mineral remains unknown. Here, we show by using transmission electron microscopy that 100-300 nm amorphous calcium phosphate regions are present in the disordered phase of trabecular bone. Nanomechanical experiments on cylindrica...

The mineralogy and chemistry of the less than 20μm fraction of marine sediments at Morphou Bay, north-west Cyprus, are presented to characterise fine-grained sediment supplies from basic and ultrabasic rocks of the Troodos Massif within a typological setting. The sediments comprise a mixture of smectite, illite, kaolinite and iron rich chlorite. They also contain amorphous iron oxides/hydroxide...