Clay Surface Redox Processes: Fundamentals and Characterization Techniques
at the
Bourbon Orleans Hotel
Saturday, April 5, 2008
9 AM – 5 PM
Hailiang Dong - Associate Professor
Department of Geology
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
Tel: 513-529-2517 (office)
http://www.users.muohio.edu/dongh/
dongh@muohio.edu
Joseph Stucki - Professor
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL 61801
Tel: 217-333-9636(office)
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jstucki/www/index.htm
jstucki@uiuc.edu
This workshop will bring together clay scientists and students who are interested in the process and characterization of clay redox chemistry in clays and their interfaces. The aim is to increase participants’ understanding and knowledge of the electron transfer process taking place at the clay-water interface. In this context, topics will include: redox interactions between bacteria and clays, organics and clays, and metals and clays; sorption and desorption mechanisms of environmental contaminants on clay surfaces; and a suite of state-of-the-art analytical techniques used to characterize these processes.
The mechanisms and extent of interactions of clays with a number of chemicals such as pesticides, organic contaminants, heavy metals, and plant nutrients are strongly correlated with the surface redox chemistry of the clay minerals, such as reactive site density on their surfaces or oxidation state of iron (Fe) in their crystal structures. The surface chemistry of clays also plays an important role in clay dispersion and aggregation which have broad implications for a wide range of environmental processes such as contaminant transport, wastewater treatment, and shallow marine sediment structure and stability. Although clay surface chemistry has been well studied in the last decade, and its role in environmental processes recognized, a gap exists between the underlying physical, chemical, and biological processes that take place at the nanometer scale of clays and their macroscopic manifestations. This workshop is intended to bring together experts with a wide range of knowledge to bridge this gap.
