A simple strategy for the synthesis of well-defined bassanite nanorods

Bassanite is a metastable but industrially important form of calcium sulfate, which is commonly produced by heating of gypsum. Here we show that pure bassanite can also be obtained at ambient conditions by quenching aqueous CaSO4 solutions in ethanol. This highlights that organic solvents can actually induce the formation of metastable phases rather than freezing precipitation processes