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

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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.