Stefanie Klassen

PAA-PAMPS copolymers as an efficient tool to control CaCO3 scale formation.

Scale formation, the deposition of certain minerals such as CaCO3, MgCO3, and CaSO4·2H2O in industrial facilities and household devices, leads to reduced efficiency or severe damage. Therefore, incrustation is a major problem in everyday life. In recent years, double hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs) have been the focus of interest in academia with regard to their antiscaling potential. In this work, we synthesized well-defined blocklike PAA-PAMPS copolymers consisting of acrylic acid (AA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-propane sulfonate (AMPS) units in a one-step reaction by RAFT polymerization. The derived copolymers had dispersities of 1.3 and below. The copolymers have then been investigated in detail regarding their impact on the different stages of the crystallization process of CaCO3. Ca(2+) complexation, the first step of a precipitation process, and polyelectrolyte stability in aqueous solution have been investigated by potentiometric measurements, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). A weak Ca(2+) induced copolymer aggregation without concomitant precipitation was observed. Nucleation, early particle growth, and colloidal stability have been monitored in situ with DLS. The copolymers retard or even completely suppress nucleation, most probably by complexation of solution aggregates. In addition, they stabilize existing CaCO3 particles in the nanometer regime. In situ AFM was used as a tool to verify the coordination of the copolymer to the calcite (104) crystal surface and to estimate its potential as a growth inhibitor in a supersaturated CaCO3 environment. All investigated copolymers instantly stopped further crystal growth. The carboxylate richest copolymer as the most promising antiscaling candidate proved its enormous potential in scale inhibition as well in an industrial-filming test (Fresenius standard method).

How deprotonation changes molecular self-assembly – an AFM study in liquid environment

We study the influence of Alizarin Red S deprotonation on molecular self-assembly at the solid–liquid interface of the natural cleavage plane of calcite immersed in aqueous solution. To elucidate the adsorption details, we perform pH dependent high-resolution atomic force microscopy measurements. When Alizarin Red S is deposited onto calcite(10.4) in a liquid environment at an acidic pH of 5, weakly bound, ordered islands with a (3 × 3) superstructure are observed. A sharp structural transition is revealed when increasing the pH above 8. Above this pH, stable needle-like structures oriented along the [01.0] direction form on the surface. Comparing these results with potentiometric titration data allows for unambiguously assigning the two molecular structures to the single and two-fold deprotonated moieties of Alizarin Red S. Our work, thus, illustrates the decisive impact of the protonation state on molecular self-assembly.

Chemical Identification at the Solid–Liquid Interface

Solid-liquid interfaces are decisive for a wide range of natural and technological processes, including fields as diverse as geochemistry and environmental science as well as catalysis and corrosion protection. Dynamic atomic force microscopy nowadays provides unparalleled structural insights into solid-liquid interfaces, including the solvation structure above the surface. In contrast, chemical identification of individual interfacial atoms still remains a considerable challenge. So far, an identification of chemically alike atoms in a surface alloy has only been demonstrated under well-controlled ultrahigh vacuum conditions. In liquids, the recent advent of three-dimensional force mapping has opened the potential to discriminate between anionic and cationic surface species. However, a full chemical identification will also include the far more challenging situation of alike interfacial atoms (i.e., with the same net charge). Here we demonstrate the chemical identification capabilities of dynamic atomic force microscopy at solid-liquid interfaces by identifying Ca and Mg cations at the dolomite-water interface. Analyzing site-specific vertical positions of hydration layers and comparing them with molecular dynamics simulations unambiguously unravels the minute but decisive difference in ion hydration and provides a clear means for telling calcium and magnesium ions apart. Our work, thus, demonstrates the chemical identification capabilities of dynamic AFM at the solid-liquid interface.