Abstract
Effects of radiation on the aggregation of nanoplatelets of aluminum oxyhydroxide (boehmite) in slurries of M1+ cation nitrates have been observed using tumbler small- and ultra-small-angle neutron scattering. Nitrate solutions of H, Li, Na, K, and Rb at concentrations of 10-5, 10-3, 10-1, 2, and 4 molal were compared to the results for pure H2O. Primary aggregates consisting of small stacks of boehmite platelets that form immediately after the boehmite is placed in water are smaller for irradiated boehmite than the pristine material. The primary aggregates for irradiated boehmite also appear to have a rougher surface than those observed for unirradiated materials. Both results are possibly due to breaking of the surface OH species and neutralization of the surface. At low salt concentrations, the pH of the irradiated boehmite slurries is lower than that of the corresponding pristine material, indicating that irradiated boehmite adsorbs fewer protons or more hydroxide onto its surface than the pristine boehmite. Increasing the salt concentration decreases the pH to near neutral at 7 due to screening of the electric double layer at the solid/liquid interface. Irradiation does not seem to affect the size of secondary aggregates formed from the aggregation of primary aggregates or the overall size of the primary aggregates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4896-4904 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Physical Chemistry C |
| Volume | 127 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 16 2023 |
Funding
This work was supported as a part of IDREAM, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science. The authors acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Neutron Research, U.S. Department of Commerce in providing the research neutron facilities used in this work. Access to both NBG30 SANS and BT5 USANS was provided by the Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering, a partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. DMR-1508249. Certain commercial equipment, instruments, materials, and software are identified in this paper to foster understanding. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology or the Department of Energy, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose. A.I.K. acknowledges the support of the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy. The authors thank Prof. Ian Carmichael for making available the facilities of the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, which is supported by the Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences, Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, United States Department of Energy through grant number DE-FC02-04ER15533. This contribution is NDRL-5384 from the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory. The authors have no pertinent commercial or other relationships that are known to them to create a conflict of interest.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Neutron Research | |
| National Science Foundation | DMR-1508249 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | DE-FC02-04ER15533, NDRL-5384 |
| National Institute of Standards and Technology | |
| U.S. Department of Commerce | |
| Office of Science | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division | |
| Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, University of Notre Dame |