Salinity-Induced Reduction of Interfacial Energies and Kinetic Factors during Calcium Carbonate Nucleation on Quartz

Journal Article · Tue May 14 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Physical Chemistry. C

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b00378· OSTI ID:1547040

Li, Qingyun ^[1]; Jun, Young-Shin ^[1]

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1. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States)

Nucleation is a vital nanoscale process during the formation of new phases. This study employs CaCO₃ nucleation on quartz as an example system and investigates the effects of salinity on thermodynamic and kinetic factors in CaCO₃ nucleation. In situ grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering was used to obtain the nucleation rates of CaCO₃ at different supersaturations (IAP/K_sp(calcite) = 10^1.40 to 10^2.00) and NaCl-adjusted ionic strengths (i.e., salinities). From a salinity value of 0.15 to 0.85 M, the effective interfacial energy (α) dropped from 48 to 35 mJ/m² because of the decrease in water–CaCO₃ and CaCO₃–quartz interfacial energies, and the kinetic factor was reduced by ~13 times. Further, high salinity triggered faster nucleation, shorter induction time, and smaller nuclei. Our results provide new insights for predicting and improving such important processes as CO₂ mineralization during geologic carbon sequestration, desalination membranes, nanoparticle synthesis, and contaminated environments.

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 1547040
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1531011
• Journal Information: Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry. C Journal Issue: 23 Vol. 123; ISSN 1932-7447
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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