Collaborative Research: Role of Polyoxotungstates in Enhanced Solubility and Transport of Tungsten

美国国家科学基金会化学部的环境化学科学项目支持哥伦比亚大学Lamont-Doherty地球观测站的Benjamin Bostick教授和加州大学戴维斯分校的Bill Casey教授的研究，他们将进行合作研究，调查水溶液中钨的溶液形态和吸附特性。利用x射线吸收光谱（XAS）、互补溶液和固态核磁共振（NMR）光谱研究了多金属氧酸盐簇的热力学和动力学稳定性，以及它们对矿物基质的反应性。这项研究将解决关于环境中络合离子的反应性和性质的基本问题，以及这些络合物在增强其溶解度和运输方面所起的作用。为了准确地评估污染物（或其他任何东西）的环境命运，了解控制其在水中浓度的化学过程至关重要。本研究考察了钨的溶解度和反应性，以及在复杂环境系统中很少研究的新兴污染物。更广泛地说，化学物质在溶液中形成的原理及其在调节吸附和矿物沉淀行为中的作用广泛适用于理解许多化学物质的性质和行为，包括各种营养物质和污染物。这项研究将训练学生了解影响环境的基本化学原理，并提供使用这些原理更好地管理环境所需的视角。

The Environmental Chemical Sciences Program in the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation supports the research of Professors Benjamin Bostick from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, and Bill Casey of the University of California-Davis, who will perform collaborative research that will investigate the solution speciation and adsorption properties of tungsten in aqueous solutions. The thermodynamic and kinetic stability of polyoxometalate clusters, and their reactivity towards mineral substrates will be examined using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and complementary solution and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This research will address fundamental, long-standing questions about the reactivity and properties of complex ions in the environment, and the role that such complexes play in enhancing their solubility and transport. To accurately assess the environmental fate of a contaminant (or anything else), it is critical to understand the chemical processes that control their concentrations in water. This research examines the solubility and reactivity of tungsten, and emerging contaminant of concern that has seldom been studied in complex environmental systems. More broadly, the principles of chemical speciation in solution and its role in regulating adsorption and mineral precipitation behavior are widely applicable to understanding the properties and behavior of many chemical species, including a variety of nutrients and contaminants. This research will train students in the fundamental chemical principles that affect the environment, and provide the perspective needed to use those principles to be better stewards of it.