Order and Disorder in Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate: Insights from First-Principles Calculations

Calcium oxalate minerals are broadly present in nature. They form through biogenic, geogenic, and pathogenic processes that lead to different pseudopolymorphs. Being the most common solid phase in human nephrolithiasis, calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) in particular has been the focus of much investigation. It exists in several crystalline forms, two of which appear to be of biological and medical relevance: the low- and high-temperature forms...