Download Environmental changes as seen from a molecular perspective

Environmentalchangesasseenfromamolecularperspective:
Usingelectronsspectroscopytoinvestigateenvironmentally
relevantaqueoussolutions
ArnaldoNavesdeBrito
Dept.ofAppliedPhysics,InstituteofPhysics“GlebWataghin”,
UniversityofCampinas,CEP:13083-859Campinas-SP,Brazil
Themolecularsurfaceofaqueoussolutionsmayshowsurprisinglydifferent
propertiescomparetoitsbulk[1].Farfrombeingonlyascientificallypeculiarfact,
importantphenomenathataffectenvironmentalchangesonaglobalscaleare
linkedtothemolecularcompositionatthisregion[2].Indeedtheuptakeofgas
phasemoleculesbyliquidsisasurfacephenomenonandthemoleculespresent
atthatregionultimatelywilldrivetheadsorptionrate.Forexampletheup-take
ofcarbondioxidebyseawaterwilldependonwhatprotonatedspeciesareatthe
Figure1
MarinelifeandoceanpHchanges.
surface.AswemayseeonFig.1,smallchangesintheoceanspH,dueto
adsorptionofCO2,maydrasticallyaffectmarinelifepopulation.Modelingfuture
chancesmorepreciselyarekeytoamelioratetheproblem,whichcritically
dependsonourknowledgeabouttheprocessesinvolved.Aerosols,presentalso
attheupperatmosphere,areamajorunknowninclimatemodels[3].These
particlesaretypicallyamixtureofbothorganicandinorganicmolecules.Dueto
theirreducedsize,itisunlikelythatusingtheaveragebulkcompositionwillbe
sufficienttodescribeitsclimaterelevantproperties.WeplantoshowhowXPS,
whichissurfacesensitiveandelementspecific,canhelpimprovingthepresent
knowledgeinthearea.
[1]A.M.daSilva,A.Mocellin,S.Monti,C.Li,R.R.T.Marinho,A.Medina,H.Agren,
V.Carravetta,A.N.deBrito,J.Phys.Chem.Lett.2015,6,807-811.
[2] T.Lewis,M.Faubel,B.Winter,J.C.Hemminger,Angew.Chem.,Int.Ed.2011,
50,10178-10181.
[3] IPCC,inClimateChange2007(Ed.:S.Solomon,D.Qin,M.Manning,Z.Chen,M.
Marquis,K.B.Averyt,M.TignorandH.L.Miller),CambridgeUniversityPress,
UnitedKingdomandNewYork,NY,USA,2007,p.996.