Surface-reacted calcium carbonate with functional cations

Abstract

A method of preserving, controlling an odor, and/or enhancing and/or mediating antimicrobial activity of a substrate is described, the method comprising administering a surface-reacted calcium carbonate. The surface-reacted calcium carbonate is obtained by a process comprising treating a calcium carbonate-comprising material with at least one H 3 O + ion donor, carbon dioxide, and at least one water-soluble metal cation source in an aqueous medium to form an aqueous suspension of surface-reacted calcium carbonate.

1 . A method of preserving, controlling an odor, and/or enhancing and/or mediating antimicrobial activity of a substrate, the method comprising administering a surface-reacted calcium carbonate in an amount sufficient to act as a preservative, to control the odor and/or enhance and/or mediate the antimicrobial activity of the substrate, wherein the surface-reacted calcium carbonate is obtained by a process comprising the steps of:
 a) providing a calcium carbonate-comprising material, wherein the calcium carbonate-comprising material is a natural ground calcium carbonate,   b) providing at least one H 3 O +  ion donor, wherein the at least one H 3 O +  ion donor is phosphoric acid,   c) providing at least one water-soluble metal cation source, and   d) treating the calcium carbonate-comprising material of step a) with the at least one H 30   +  ion donor of step b) and carbon dioxide in an aqueous medium to form an aqueous suspension of surface-reacted calcium carbonate, wherein in step d) the calcium carbonate-comprising material is treated with a solution comprising the at least one H 3 O +  ion donor of step b) and the at least one water-soluble metal cation source of step c),   wherein the at least one water-soluble metal cation source is selected from the group consisting of copper nitrate, copper sulphate, copper acetate, copper chloride, copper bromide, copper iodide, zinc nitrate, zinc sulphate, zinc acetate, zinc chloride, zinc bromide, zinc iodide, hydrates thereof, and mixtures thereof,   wherein the carbon dioxide is formed in-situ by the H 3 O +  ion donor treatment of the calcium carbonate-comprising material and/or is supplied from an external source, and   wherein the at least one water-soluble metal cation source of step c) is added during step d).   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calcium carbonate-comprising material is in the form of particles having a weight median particle size d 50 (wt) from 0.05 μm to 10 μm and/or a weight top cut particle size d 98 (wt) from 0.15 μm to 55 μm. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the molar ratio of the at least one H 3 O +  ion donor to the calcium carbonate-comprising material is from 0.01 to 4. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one water-soluble metal cation source is provided in an amount from 0.01 wt.-% to 60 wt.-%, based on the total weight of the calcium carbonate-comprising material. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein in step d) the calcium carbonate-comprising material is treated with a first solution comprising a first part of the at least one H 3 O +  ion donor of step b), and subsequently, with a second solution comprising the remaining part of the at least one H 3 O +  ion donor of step b) and the at least one water-soluble metal cation source of step c). 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein step d) is carried out at a temperature from 20° C. to 90° C. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises a step e) of separating the surface-reacted calcium carbonate from the aqueous suspension obtained in step d). 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises a step f) of drying the surface-reacted calcium carbonate after step d) at a temperature in the range from 60° C. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface-reacted calcium carbonate has a specific surface area of from 15 m 2 /g to 200 m 2 /g measured using nitrogen and the BET method. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface-reacted calcium carbonate has a volume determined median particle size d 50 (vol) from 1 μm to 75 μm and/or a volume determined top cut particle size d 98 (vol) from 2 μm to 150 μm. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface-reacted calcium carbonate has an intra-particle intruded specific pore volume in the range from 0.1 cm 3 /g to 2.3 cm 3 /g calculated from mercury porosimetry measurement. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface-reacted calcium carbonate has an intra-particle pore size in a range of from 0.004 μm to 1.6 μm determined from mercury porosity measurement. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the administering a surface-reacted calcium carbonate comprises administering a composition comprising the surface-reacted calcium carbonate and an additional surface-reacted calcium carbonate, wherein the additional surface-reacted calcium carbonate is a reaction product of natural ground calcium carbonate or precipitated calcium carbonate with carbon dioxide and at least one H 3 O +  ion donor, wherein the carbon dioxide is formed in-situ by the H 3 O +  ion donor treatment and/or is supplied from an external source. 
     
     
         20 - 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of paper products, engineered wood products, plasterboard products, polymer products, hygiene products, medical products, healthcare products, filter products, woven materials, nonwoven materials, geotextile products, agriculture products, horticulture products, clothing, footwear products, baggage products, household products, industrial products, packaging products, building products, and construction products. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the natural ground calcium carbonate is selected from the group consisting of marble, chalk, dolomite, limestone, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the weight median particle size d 50 (wt) is from 0.2 μm to 5.0 μm and/or the weight top cut particle size d 98 (wt) is from 1 μm to 40 μm. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the molar ratio is from 0.02 to 2. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the amount of the at least one water-soluble metal cation source is from 0.05 wt.-% to 50 wt.-%. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the drying is conducted until the moisture content of the surface-reacted calcium carbonate is from 0.01 wt.-% to 5 wt.-% based on the total weight of the dried surface-reacted calcium carbonate. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the specific surface area is from 20 m 2 /g to 180 m 2 /g. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the volume determined median particle size d 50 (vol) is from 2 μm to 50 μm and/or the volume determined top cut particle size d 98 (vol) is from 4 μm to 100 μm. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the intra-particle intruded specific pore volume is from 0.2 cm 2 /g to 2.0 cm 3 /g. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the intra-particle pore size is from 0.005 μm to 1.3 μm. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method comprises administering the surface-reacted calcium carbonate in an amount sufficient to act as a preservative of the substrate. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method comprises administering the surface-reacted calcium carbonate in an amount sufficient to control the odor of the substrate. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the odor originates from an odorant selected from the group consisting of odorants contained in a human or animal body liquid or secretions, odorants originating from putrefaction, and odorants contained in food. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the odor originates from an odorant selected from the group consisting of:
 a) an odorant originating from putrefaction of human or animal tissue;   b) an odorant contained in a human or animal body liquid or secretion selected from the group consisting of menses, blood, plasma, sanies, vaginal secretions, mucus, milk, urine, feces, vomit and perspiration; and   c) an odorant in a food selected from the group consisting of dairy products, meat, fish and fruit.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method comprises administering the surface-reacted calcium carbonate in an amount sufficient to enhance and/or mediate the antimicrobial activity of the substrate. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of a sheet of paper, a cardboard, a polymer material, a paint, a wood surface, concrete, and a plant. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the antimicrobial activity is against a microorganism selected from the group consisting of bacteria, mold, yeast, and algae. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the antimicrobial activity is against a bacteria. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the bacteria is selected from the group consisting of  Escherichia  sp.,  Staphylococcus  sp.,  Thermus  sp.,  Propionibacterium  sp.,  Rhodococcus  sp.,  Panninobacter  sp.,  Caulobacter  sp.,  Brevundimonas  sp.,  Asticcacaulis  sp.,  Sphingomonas  sp.,  Rhizobium  sp.,  Ensifer  sp.,  Bradyrhizobium  sp.,  Tepidimonas  sp.,  Tepidicella  sp.,  Aquabacterium  sp.,  Pelomonas  sp.,  Alcaligenis  sp.,  Achromobacter  sp.,  Ralstonia  sp.,  Limnobacter  sp.,  Massilia  sp.,  Hydrogenophaga  sp.,  Acidovorax  sp.,  Curvibacter  sp.,  Delftia  sp.,  Rhodoferax  sp.,  Alishewanella  sp.,  Stenotrophomonas  sp.,  Dokdonella  sp.,  Methylosinus  sp.,  Hyphomicrobium  sp.,  Methylosulfomonas  sp.,  Methylobacteria  sp.,  Pseudomonas  sp.,  Enterococcus  sp.,  Myroides  sp.,  Burkholderia  sp.,  Alcaligenes  sp.  Staphylococcus  sp., and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the bacteria is  Staphylococcus  sp.