Additive-Specific Influences on Non-Classical Nucleation Pathways in Industrially Relevant Minerals

Additive-Specific Influences on Non-Classical Nucleation Pathways in Industrially Relevant Minerals | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Additive-Specific Influences on Non-Classical Nucleation Pathways in Industrially Relevant Minerals Alexander Van Driessche, Annet Baken, Alejandro Fernandez-Martinez, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5587677/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Additives, comprising small quantities of organic and inorganic molecules, are crucial for controlling the crystallization of various (bio)materials; however, their mechanisms remain poorly understood. By integrating in situ high-energy X-ray scattering with potentiometric titrations, we examined the impact of industrially relevant additives on the nucleation pathways of portlandite and gypsum. While both minerals undergo multistep nucleation, portlandite transitions gradually from a disordered to an ordered phase, whereas gypsum exhibits an abrupt transition. These distinct non-classical pathways and their pH conditions correlate with the mineral-specific effects of the additives. Notably, additive effects extend beyond the classical models, such as cation-binding, exerting influence primarily during the prenucleation stage. Moreover, additives demonstrate a dual role by simultaneously delaying and accelerating different stages of nucleation, highlighting their multifaceted impact on the crystallization process. These findings offer valuable insights for designing tailored additives to optimize industrial crystallization processes and advance the understanding of biomineralization mechanisms. Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical engineering Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Reaction kinetics and dynamics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SIAdditivesNonCNT.pdf author cover letter Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5587677","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":391981195,"identity":"846e2bc8-bd98-4d42-8a81-c91c9d1ef428","order_by":0,"name":"Alexander Van Driessche","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdjDJDCYlPjAw8BDWwoxESs4gWYs0EeoZGPibmY9J/NxhLWfewGN426amToa/gfnwB3xaJA6zJRv2nkk3ljnAY2ydc+wwj8QBtjQJvNYc5jF8wNt2OHEGA1uadG7DAR4DBh4zvDrkD/N/OPi37XA9WItlQx1QC/9nvA4zOMzD+BhoS4IEA/MxacYGZpAtDHgdZniYzdhYti3dcAYz82HLHpBfDrOZ4dUid7z5meTbNmt5CfbGxhs/aurs+dubH+N1GAIwYzBGwSgYBaNgFJANAOkDPCdzE0PPAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2528-3425","institution":"CSIC","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alexander","middleName":"Van","lastName":"Driessche","suffix":""},{"id":391981196,"identity":"240ad1da-6e80-48e8-be05-9a2786e6563d","order_by":1,"name":"Annet Baken","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CNRS - Univ. 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