CaCO₃ Nanoparticle Polymorph Selection (2D): Calcite, Vaterite & Aragonite

When calcium and carbonate ions meet in solution, the CaCO₃ that precipitates out doesn't always take the same crystal form — this simulator renders a 2D cross-section through a crystallization beaker where nucleating nanoparticles grow into one of three genuine CaCO₃ polymorphs: rhombohedral calcite, spherical vaterite or needle-shaped aragonite. Classical nucleation theory drives how fast particles appear from your supersaturation and temperature settings, while a Mg²⁺/Ca²⁺ inhibition rule — the same mechanism that keeps seawater and biominerals aragonite-rich instead of calcite — governs which polymorph each nucleus locks into and whether metastable vaterite survives or converts to calcite over time. Live readouts and a scrolling phase-history strip chart track the nucleation rate, particle count, mean size and the evolving phase fractions as the beaker fills.