Regensburg 2016 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 3: Focus Session: Morphology Prediction at Interfaces
O 3.5: Topical Talk
Monday, March 7, 2016, 12:30–13:00, S051
Interaction of alcohols and water with carbonate surfaces — •Angelika Kühnle1, Christoph Marutschke1, Felix Kling1, Dirk Lautner1, Ralf Bechstein1, Peter Spijker2, John Tracey2, Ville Loukonen2, and Adam Foster2 — 1Universität Mainz — 2Aalto University
Carbonate minerals are abundant in the earth's crust and constitute the inorganic phase in many bio-minerals created by nature. Understanding the formation and reactivity of carbonates in their natural environment requires elucidating the interaction of organic molecules with the mineral surface in the presence of water. We have studied the solid-liquid interface at the natural cleavage plane of the most common carbonates, i.e., calcite, magnesite and dolomite using high-resolution atomic-force microscopy (AFM) imaging and three-dimensional solvation layer mapping. Representing the simplest organic molecules, we have studied methanol, ethanol and their competition with water on the carbonate surfaces. In combination with molecular dynamics simulations we explain the observed solvation structures and provide evidence for stronger ethanol-calcite interaction as compared to water-calcite interaction.
We complement our liquid environment studies by an investigation in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). Thermal desorption spectroscopy obtained at sub-monolayer coverage confirms that ethanol is more strongly bound to calcite as compared to water. In combination with theoretical simulations we disclose atomic-scale details of the water-carbonate as well as the alcohol-carbonate interaction.