CaCO₃ Nanoparticle Polymorph Selection: 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 real 3D 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 track the nucleation rate, particle count, mean size and the evolving phase fractions as the beaker fills.