Ammonia, Acids and Environmental Surfaces

在这个项目中，化学系的环境化学科学项目资助塔夫茨大学的玛丽·简·舒尔茨教授研究与氨和酸有关的环境反应。从大气氮中合成氨被称为20世纪最伟大的发明；事实上，它养活了世界上一半的人？S。它还消耗了世界上超过2%的能源？？S。不幸的是，产生并转化为肥料的氨中只有15%用于粮食生产。高达50%的氨最终排放到空气或供水系统中。然而，释放到大气中的氨的去向和影响在很大程度上是未知的，但减少产生的氨的损失可能会对粮食生产者产生重大的经济影响，并减少径流对供水的负面影响。模拟结果表明，氨在将硫氧化物转化为产生云的颗粒方面起到了催化作用。云层反过来调节地球的辐射平衡。了解粒子的形成是与气候和天气模拟相关的重大挑战之一。这项工作旨在了解氨在环境中的作用，特别是在能源消耗、食品生产和清洁水供应方面。该项目还有望为技术劳动力做出贡献；学生们在发明和应用探测表面的前沿工具方面获得了经验。通过化学系COOP计划与当地中学共享数据；舒尔茨实验室是COOP学生的东道主。该项目将新兴的光谱技术与表面科学相结合，以探测氨与表面的相互作用。表面在土壤-氨和氨-大气-气溶胶相互作用中都扮演着非常重要的角色。探测存在于这些表面上的复杂混合物对大多数传统的表面科学技术提出了挑战。有一种技术可以满足这一挑战：非线性、表面特定的振动光谱与非线性干涉测量相结合。将这项技术应用于土壤和气溶胶界面，有望深入了解影响水和空气质量的相互作用。此外，更深入地了解土壤化学可以改进肥料配方，以控制释放对食品和水供应的影响。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In this project, the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program of the Division of Chemistry is funding Professor Mary Jane Shultz of Tufts University to investigate environmental reactions related to ammonia and acids. Synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen has been called the greatest invention of the 20th century; indeed, it is responsible for feeding half the world?s population. It also consumes more than 2% of the World?s energy. Unfortunately, only 15% of the ammonia created and converted into fertilizer is useful for food production. As much as 50% of the ammonia produced ends up in the air or in water supplies. The fate and impact of the ammonia released into the atmosphere is largely unknown however, mitigating the loss of ammonia produced could have a major economic impact on food producers as well as reducing negative effects of runoff on water supplies. Modeling results suggest a catalytic role for ammonia in transforming sulfur oxides into particles that generate clouds. Clouds in turn modulate Earth's radiation balance. Understanding particle formation is one of the grand challenges associated with climate and weather modeling. This work is aimed at understanding the role of ammonia in the environment, especially in terms of energy consumption, food production and clean water supplies. The project is also expected to contribute to the technological workforce; students gain experience with inventing and applying forefront tools for probing surfaces. Data are shared with local secondary schools through the chemistry department COOP program; the Shultz laboratory is a host for COOP students.This project combines emerging spectroscopic techniques with surface science to probe ammonia-surface interactions. Surfaces play an outsized role both in soil-ammonia and ammonia-atmospheric-aerosol interactions. Probing complex mixtures that exist on these surfaces presents a challenge to most traditional surface science techniques. There is one technique that meets the challenge: nonlinear, surface-specific vibrational spectroscopy coupled with nonlinear interferometry. Applying this technique to soil and aerosol interfaces is expected to yield insight into interactions that impact water and air quality. Additionally, a deeper understanding of soil chemistry could lead to improved fertilizer formulations for controlled release impacting both food and water supplies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.