Characterization of nanoparticle formation and aggregation on mineral surfaces

The research effort in the Waychunas group is focused on the characterization and measurement of processes at the mineral-water interfaces specifically related to the onset of precipitation. This effort maps into one of the main project groups with the Penn State University EMSI (CEKA) known as PIG (Precipitation Interest Group), and involves collaborations with several members of that group. Both synchrotron experimentation and technique development are objectives, with the goals of allowing precipitation from single molecule attachment to sub-monolayer coverage to be detected and analyzed. The problem being addressed is the change in reactivity of mineral interfaces due to passivation or activation by precipitates or sorbates. In the case of passivation, fewer active sites may be involved in reactions with environmental fluids, while in the activated case the precipitate may be much more reactive than the substrate, or result in the creation of a higher density of active sites. We approach this problem by making direct measurements of several types of precipitation reactions: iron-aluminum oxide formation on quartz and other substrates from both homogeneous (in solution) nucleation, and heterogeneous (on the surface) nucleation; precipitation and sorption of silicate monomers and polymers on Fe oxide surfaces; and development of grazing-incidence small angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) as a tool for in-situ measurement of precipitate growth, morphology and aggregation. We expect that these projects will produce new fundamental information on reactive interface growth, passivation and activation, and be applicable to a wide range of environmental interfaces