Pre-equilibrium in-situ solvated ion/molecular adsorption processes and events on solid substrates in aqueous environments: Adsorption discretization, surface adsorption waves and repulsive forces
EMSL Project ID
48770
Abstract
The purpose of the proposed work is to image and analyze chemically at the micro-nano scale pre-equilibrium adsorption processes and events hypothesized to occur (adsorption discretization, surface adsorption waves and surface repulsive forces) between solvated ions/molecules on inorganic (and later organic) solid substrates in aqueous environments qualitatively and quantitatively using the in-situ TEM capabilities of the Quiet Wing at PNNL. To date, our current technology has numerous ex –situ and in-situ tools (e.g. AFM, XPS, STM, SEM, and EMP) that can tell us vital chemical and spatial (micro-nano) information about the surface processes that occur when an ion/molecule at equilibrium is adsorbed onto a solid substrate. Unfortunately these techniques only give us snap-shots of the equilibrium adsorption processes in the time-scale of the employed technique and also tend to be more favorable for ideal surfaces and less so for non-ideal surfaces normally found in all solids. Therefore, we have no pre-equilibrium information of when, how and where the ions/molecules distribute themselves on the surface of the solid substrate until the adsorbed ions/molecules on the surface reach their equilibrium state. Our work will use laboratory experiments of the most common adsorptions reactions between ions/molecules on solids substrates encountered in (i) remediation and attenuation of toxic elements in surface and subsurface environments and (ii) microbe-drug interactions to show qualitatively and quantitatively the untapped real time in-situ surface pre-equilibrium adsorption processes and events (e.g. adsorption discretization, surface adsorption waves and surface repulsive forces) that are hypothesized to exist (based on preliminary liquid cell adsorption TEM data collected at LBNL in 2013). Because these hypothesized pre-equilibrium adsorption process and events are still undocumented in the literature, the proposed work to be conducted at PNNL in 2015 will allow us to verify without a doubt the validity of these hypothesized pre-equilibrium adsorption processes and events. Once the feasibility is established in the first year, the long term goal of this project in subsequent years is to demonstrate that pre-equilibrium adsorption processes and events hypothesized to occur such as adsorption discretization, surface adsorption waves and surface repulsive forces are also applicable to any field of research (environment, medicine, chemistry, physics, and engineering) involving adsorption phenomena. Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2015-10-01
End Date
2018-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Gomez M. A., Jiang R., Song, M., Li D., Lea A.S., Ying X., Wang S., and Jia, Y. (2020) Further insights into the Fe(II) reduction of 2-line Ferihydrite via semi In-situ and In-situ TEM analysis. Nanoscale Advances. DOI: 10.1039/d0na00643b