Inorganic reaction mechanisms in solution

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This proposal has two overall objectives. One is to provide answers to several scientific questions generated by the applicant's research over the last 5 decades into the mechanisms of inorganic chemical reactions in solution. A special feature of this work has been the use of very high pressures to provide mechanistic information, most recently on electrochemical processes. The effects of high pressures on chemical processes are of intrinsic scientific interest and have relevance to several technologies and disciplines in which high pressures are encountered (e.g., oceanography, electrical energy generation and storage, geology, materials science). We stress, however, that the motivation of this work is primarily the acquisition of basic scientific knowledge. We also propose to continue our work at ambient pressure on the aqueous chemistry of silicon and aluminum, which emphasizes the rates of their reactions and which has relevance to several technologies including the manufacture of catalysts (zeolites), aluminum refining, and petroleum extraction from oil sands.