X-ray diffraction studies performed during the nucleation of hydrocerussite  (PbCO3•Pb(OH)2) from a supersaturated aqueous solution, at a floating fatty acid monolayer template, reveal (√7 x √7)-R19.1° reconstruction at the (001) surface of hydrocerussite. Reordering of surface atoms into epitaxial superstructures was thought to require extremely clean surfaces (cleaned electrochemically or under ultra-high vacuum). At this organic–inorganic interface, the organic monolayer relaxes to form an epitaxial match with the reconstructed lattice just below it. It was speculated that this lattice match, along with the ion-specific interactions of the monolayer, provide the clean nucleation environment.

Evidence of Surface Reconstruction during ‘Bioinspired’ Inorganic Nucleation at an Organic Template. S.Kewalramani, G.Evmenenko, C.J.Yu, K.Kim, J.Kmetko, P.Dutta: Surface Science, 2005, 591[1-3], L286-91