X-ray-driven reaction front dynamics at calcite-water interfaces
The interface between minerals and aqueous solutions hosts globally important biogeochemical processes such as the growth and dissolution of carbonate minerals. Understanding such processes requires spatially and temporally resolved observations and experimental controls that precisely manipulate the interfacial thermodynamic state. Using the intense radiation fields of a focused synchrotron x-ray beam, we drove dissolution at the calcite/water interface and simultaneously probed the dynamics of the propagating reaction fronts using surface x-ray microscopy. Evolving surface structures were controlled by the time-dependent solution composition, as characterized by a kinetic reaction model. At extreme disequilibria, we observed the onset of reaction front instabilities with velocities of > 30 nanometers per second. These instabilities serve as a signature of transport-limited dissolution of calcite under extreme disequilibrium.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science - Office of Basic Energy Sciences - Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1392060
- Journal Information:
- Science, Vol. 349, Issue 6254; ISSN 0036-8075
- Publisher:
- AAAS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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