Heteroepitaxial nucleation and growth of complex coatings at mineral/water interfaces
EMSL Project ID
49689
Abstract
All realistic mineral surfaces in natural waters can be expected to be coated, and their reactive properties influenced by the presence of coatings. Heteroepitaxial growth is the templated growth of compositionally distinct but structurally similar phases on a mineral substrate and leads to coatings that can mask the properties of the underlying bulk phase. It is a common but challenging interfacial process to understand because the nature of the coatings is a complex function of solution conditions, solubility, and interfacial structure, and because of difficulties in detection and probing thin, structurally similar minerals on minerals. The long-term vision of this research is to provide fundamental insights into the formation of heteroepitaxial coatings and the mineral/fluid interfacial properties that emerge as they form and to develop a microscopy theory of heteroepitaxial nucleation and growth of complex multiphase mineral/fluid interfaces.Using the nucleation and growth of metal carbonates as a model system, we will quantify the effects of potential controlling factors, such as lattice mismatch, saturation state, and kinetics of water exchange. EMSL’s experimental capabilities will be employed to overcome current limitations and yield fundamental insights. Atomic force microscopy will be used to probe the mechanisms of nucleation and the time dependence of the size and morphology of growth features, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy will be used to determine the chemical nature of the epitaxial coatings, and scanning electron microscopy will be used to reveal the physical nature of the precipitates.
Project Details
Start Date
2016-11-07
End Date
2017-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Cui W., X. Zhang, C.I. Pearce, Y. Chen, S. Zhang, W. Liu, and M.H. Engelhard, et al. 2019. "Cr(III) adsorption by cluster formation on boehmite nanoplates in highly alkaline solution." Environmental Science & Technology 53, no. 18:11043-11055. PNNL-SA-143650. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b02693
Riechers SL, and SN Kerisit. 2018. "Anisotropic Growth of Otavite on Calcite: Implications for Heteroepitaxial Growth Mechanisms." Crystal Growth & Design 18(1):159-170. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01055
Xu M, SL Riechers, ES Ilton, Y Du, L Kovarik, T Varga, BW Arey, O Qafoku, and SN Kerisit. 2017. "Manganese-Calcium Intermixing Facilitates Heteroepitaxial Growth at the (10-14) Calcite-Water Interface." Chemical Geology 470:152-163. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.09.001