Collaborative Research: Toward a unified model for ferrihydrite nanoparticles behavior in the environment: a multipronged investigation of surface structure and reactivity

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In this project, funded by the Environmental Chemical Sciences program in the Division of Chemistry at the National Science Foundation, Professors Nadine Kabengi, James D Kubicki and Michael L Machesky all at Georgia State University and Professor Maria Chrysochoou at University of Connecticut (UCONN) are exploring the modeling of interfacial chemical reactions in order to determine the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment. The project will support two graduate students who will experience highly interdisciplinary collaborative experimental and theoretical training at the respective institutions. It will also create several opportunities for undergraduate student involvement in research with mentors who are not only excellent role models for women and underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines, but also consistently strive to increase participation of these groups in STEM research. The project's impact is enhanced by the inclusion of its intellectual approaches in many courses taught by faculty in the Chemistry, Geoscience, and Environmental Engineering departments at the institutions, which exposes a larger number of students to important environmental geochemical concepts and techniques. Furthermore, they will integrate project concepts into their established K-12 outreach activities and web-based modules dissemination in addition to their presentations at scientific meetings. Through these activities, an effective integration of research collaborations will develop across several geochemical disciplines.The collaborative research groups are investigating the interplay between the bulk structure, surface properties, and environmental reactivity of ferrihydrite, a ubiquitous complex iron oxide. To meet this challenge, the groups are integrating experimental thermodynamics obtained through flow adsorption microcalorimetry with computational chemistry, spectroscopy, and surface complexation modeling. This framework utilizes, for the first time, a recently proposed ferrihydrite structure to model its surface reactivity. The ultimate goal of the surface studies is to develop a predictive-mechanistic understanding of the interplay between a surface structure and its environmental reactivity, which will demonstrate the strength and applicability of incorporating directly measured thermodynamics data into environmental studies of mineral-solution interfaces.