Rational design of moldable calcium chloride ceramic-like material with supramolecular structure

Calcium chloride is widely used in various fields of society because of its good chemical stability and non-toxic properties. As an inorganic salt with low ductility at low temperature, it is never used to prepare bulk materials but is usually used to prepare energy storage materials. The work in this paper presents the first synthesis of a moldable calcium chloride ceramic-like material (flexural strength up to 32 MPa) using calcium chloride. The process results in occurring ion-dipole interactions between calcium chloride and glycerol by means of direct heating and forms supramolecular structure. Due to the presence of dynamic and reversible non-covalent bonds, the bonds break upon heating bringing good flowability; the re-established bonds upon cooling allow the formation of rigid materials. The preparation is also a green and recyclable process, as the molded material can be reshaped by heating. Such a brilliant moldable property reveals the potential of this new approach for the design and production of calcium chloride materials with adjustable shapes.