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Title: Raman spectroscopic investigations of hydrothermal solutions

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:6118243

There is still very little information about the stoichiometries, structures and stabilities of metal complexes at high temperatures and pressures. Raman spectroscopy is ideally suited to probe and study concentrated electrolyte solutions at the molecular level. This thesis includes the design and construction of a Raman cell operable up to 300C and 15MPa. In order to obtain quantitative thermodynamic information from Raman spectroscopic measurements, a chemically inert internal standard must be used. Perchlorate is commonly used for this purpose at low temperatures, but it may be unstable at high temperatures and its explosive properties make it undesirable. A new preferred internal standard; trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is introduced and its spectra p to 300C discussed. The use of this compound as a high temperature internal standard enabled stepwise stability constants of zinc-bromo complexes to be determined. Although bromide is not an important ligand in geologic systems, its chemical similarity to chloride can provide insights into the study of zinc-chloro species which do not have very informative Raman spectra. The importance of organic ligands in geologic settings such as the Mississippi-Valley Type Pb-Zn sulfide deposits is now being realized. Chapter four presents the first high temperature spectroscopic measurements of lead and zinc acetate aqueous solutions. Not only do these studies verify the stability of lead and zinc acetate complexes up to 250 C but they also show that the type of complex formed is a function of pH, metal-ligand ratio and temperature, thus having important implications for zoning of Pb-Zn sulfide deposits.

Research Organization:
Princeton Univ., NJ (USA)
OSTI ID:
6118243
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English