N. Han

Mechanisms of classical crystal growth theory explain quartz and silicate dissolution behavior

The central control of mineral weathering rates on biogeochemical systems has motivated studies of dissolution for more than 50 years. A complete physical picture that explains widely observed variations in dissolution behavior is lacking, and some data show apparent serious inconsistencies that cannot be explained by the largely empirical kinetic “laws.” Here, we show that mineral dissolution can, in fact, be understood through the same mechanistic theory of nucleation developed for mineral growth. In principle, this theory should describe dissolution but has never been tested. By generalizing nucleation rate equations to include dissolution, we arrive at a model that predicts how quartz dissolution processes change with undersaturation from step retreat, to defect-driven and homogeneous etch pit formation. This finding reveals that the “salt effect,” recognized almost 100 years ago, arises from a crossover in dominant nucleation mechanism to greatly increase step density. The theory also explains the dissolution kinetics of major weathering aluminosilicates, kaolinite and K-feldspar. In doing so, it provides a sensible origin of discrepancies reported for the dependence of kaolinite dissolution and growth rates on saturation state by invoking a temperature-activated transition in the nucleation process. Although dissolution by nucleation processes was previously unknown for oxides or silicates, our mechanism-based findings are consistent with recent observations of dissolution (i.e., demineralization) in biological minerals. Nucleation theory may be the missing link to unifying mineral growth and dissolution into a mechanistic and quantitative framework across the continuum of driving force.

Kinetics of amorphous silica dissolution and the paradox of the silica polymorphs

The mechanisms by which amorphous silica dissolves have proven elusive because noncrystalline materials lack the structural order that allows them to be studied by the classical terrace, ledge, kink-based models applied to crystals. This would seem to imply amorphous phases have surfaces that are disordered at an atomic scale so that the transfer of SiO4 tetrahedra to solution always leaves the surface free energy of the solid unchanged. As a consequence, dissolution rates of amorphous phases should simply scale linearly with increasing driving force (undersaturation) through the higher probability of detaching silica tetrahedra. By examining rate measurements for two amorphous SiO2 glasses we find, instead, a paradox. In electrolyte solutions, these silicas show the same exponential dependence on driving force as their crystalline counterpart, quartz. We analyze this enigma by considering that amorphous silicas present two predominant types of surface-coordinated silica tetrahedra to solution. Electrolytes overcome the energy barrier to nucleated detachment of higher coordinated species to create a periphery of reactive, lesser coordinated groups that increase surface energy. The result is a plausible mechanism-based model that is formally identical with the classical polynuclear theory developed for crystal growth. The model also accounts for reported demineralization rates of natural biogenic and synthetic colloidal silicas. In principle, these insights should be applicable to materials with a wide variety of compositions and structural order when the reacting units are defined by the energies of their constituent species.

Polysaccharide chemistry regulates kinetics of calcite nucleation through competition of interfacial energies

Calcified skeletons are produced within complex assemblages of proteins and polysaccharides whose roles in mineralization are not well understood. Here we quantify the kinetics of calcite nucleation onto a suite of high-purity polysaccharide (PS) substrates under controlled conditions. The energy barriers to nucleation are PS-specific by a systematic relationship to PS charge density and substrate structure that is rooted in minimization of the competing substrate–crystal and substrate–liquid interfacial energies. Chitosan presents a low-energy barrier to nucleation because its near-neutral charge favors formation of a substrate–crystal interface, thus reducing substrate interactions with water. Progressively higher barriers are measured for negatively charged alginates and heparin that favor contact with the solution over the formation of new substrate–crystal interfaces. The findings support a directing role for PS in biomineral formation and demonstrate that substrate–crystal interactions are one end-member in a larger continuum of competing forces that regulate heterogeneous crystal nucleation.

Reconciling disparate views of template-directed nucleation through measurement of calcite nucleation kinetics and binding energies

Significance Organisms use specialized macromolecules to direct the timing and placement of crystals during biomineral formation. This phenomenon has inspired synthetic approaches to templating but remains poorly understood. One view holds that the organic matrix promotes nucleation through stereochemical matching to guide the organization of solute ions, while another equates binding strength to promotion of nucleation. Our study reconciles these views with a mechanistic explanation for template-directed nucleation. Through measurements of calcite nucleation kinetics and substrate–crystal binding we show that nucleation barriers and binding free energies are linearly related for all functional group chemistries and conformations as predicted from classical nucleation theory. This model reconciles long-standing concepts of stereochemical matching with the conventional wisdom that good binders are good nucleators. The physical basis for how macromolecules regulate the onset of mineral formation in calcifying tissues is not well established. A popular conceptual model assumes the organic matrix provides a stereochemical match during cooperative organization of solute ions. In contrast, another uses simple binding assays to identify good promoters of nucleation. Here, we reconcile these two views and provide a mechanistic explanation for template-directed nucleation by correlating heterogeneous nucleation barriers with crystal–substrate-binding free energies. We first measure the kinetics of calcite nucleation onto model substrates that present different functional group chemistries (carboxyl, thiol, phosphate, and hydroxyl) and conformations (C11 and C16 chain lengths). We find rates are substrate-specific and obey predictions of classical nucleation theory at supersaturations that extend above the solubility of amorphous calcium carbonate. Analysis of the kinetic data shows the thermodynamic barrier to nucleation is reduced by minimizing the interfacial free energy of the system, γ. We then use dynamic force spectroscopy to independently measure calcite–substrate-binding free energies, ΔGb. Moreover, we show that within the classical theory of nucleation, γ and ΔGb should be linearly related. The results bear out this prediction and demonstrate that low-energy barriers to nucleation correlate with strong crystal–substrate binding. This relationship is general to all functional group chemistries and conformations. These findings provide a physical model that reconciles the long-standing concept of templated nucleation through stereochemical matching with the conventional wisdom that good binders are good nucleators. The alternative perspectives become internally consistent when viewed through the lens of crystal–substrate binding.

Kinetics of Mineral Dissolution and Growth as Reciprocal Microscopic Surface Processes Across Chemical Driving Force

With the introduction of nanoscale in situ imaging technologies, a new understanding of the microscopic processes that underlie widely used empirical ‘rate laws’ is emerging. This review summarizes recent findings that the kinetics of mineral dissolution can be explained by equivalent, but inverse, microscopic processes that have been used to describe growth. Like growth, dissolution occurs by multiple microscopic processes — each with an empirical and mechanism‐based rate law and a unique dependency upon chemical driving force. As undersaturation departs from equilibrium, dissolution rates are first dominated by the process of step propagation, followed by generation of steps at dislocation sources, and then by nucleation of vacancy islands. Interplays between step edge energy, temperature and other parameters determine if/when minerals express all of these processes across driving force. Net rates that are measured from reactor studies to give power law dependencies upon driving force describe the sum o...