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

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地球天文台的Benjamin Bostick教授和加州大学戴维斯分校的Bill Casey教授的研究，他们将开展合作研究，研究水溶液中钨的溶液形态和吸附特性。多金属氧酸盐簇合物的热力学和动力学稳定性以及它们对矿物底物的反应性将使用X射线吸收光谱(XAS)以及补充溶液和固体核磁共振(NMR)光谱进行检测。这项研究将解决长期存在的基本问题，即络合离子在环境中的反应性和性质，以及此类络合物在增强其溶解性和传输方面所起的作用。为了准确评估污染物(或任何其他污染物)在环境中的命运，了解控制其在水中浓度的化学过程至关重要。这项研究考察了钨的溶解性和反应性，以及在复杂环境系统中很少研究的新出现的令人关注的污染物。更广泛地说，溶液中化学形态及其在调节吸附和矿物沉淀行为中的作用的原理广泛适用于理解许多化学物种的性质和行为，包括各种营养物质和污染物。这项研究将对学生进行影响环境的基本化学原理的培训，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.