Discoveries rewrite how some minerals form and dissolve
Two related discoveries detailing nanocrystalline mineral formation and dynamics have broad implications for managing nuclear waste, predicting soil weathering, designing advanced bioproducts and materials and optimizing commercial alumina production. The two recently published studies combine detailed molecular imaging and molecular modeling to sort out how gibbsite, a common aluminum-containing mineral, forms and dissolves in exquisite detail. Gibbsite self-assembly proceeds in a Tetris-like fashion Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory showed that small crystals orient themselves so their crystal lattices line up, then fuse to form larger gibbsite crystals. The resulting so-called mesocrystals are structures built from smaller, perfectly aligned nanocrystals. The study is published in Nature Communications.
Read more.
