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

在这个由国家科学基金会化学部环境化学科学项目资助的项目中，格鲁吉亚州立大学的Nadine Kabengi、James D Kubicki和Michael L Machesky教授以及康涅狄格大学（UCONN）的Maria Chrysochou教授正在探索界面化学反应的建模，以确定环境中污染物的命运和运输。该项目将支持两名研究生，他们将在各自的机构经历高度跨学科的合作实验和理论培训。它还将为本科生参与研究创造几个机会，导师不仅是STEM学科中女性和代表性不足的群体的优秀榜样，而且还不断努力增加这些群体在STEM研究中的参与。该项目的影响是通过在化学，地球科学和环境工程系的教师在机构，这暴露了大量的学生重要的环境地球化学概念和技术教授的许多课程，包括其知识方法增强。此外，他们将把项目概念纳入其既定的K-12外联活动和基于网络的模块传播，以及在科学会议上的介绍。通过这些活动，将有效地整合多个地球化学学科的研究合作。合作研究小组正在调查水铁矿（一种普遍存在的复杂氧化铁）的本体结构、表面性质和环境反应性之间的相互作用。为了应对这一挑战，研究小组正在整合通过流动吸附微量热法获得的实验热力学与计算化学，光谱学和表面络合建模。该框架首次利用最近提出的水铁矿结构来模拟其表面反应性。表面研究的最终目标是开发一个预测机制的理解之间的相互作用的表面结构和它的环境反应性，这将证明直接测量的热力学数据纳入矿物溶液界面的环境研究的强度和适用性。

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.