Photooxidation of chloride by oxide minerals: implications for perchlorate on Mars.

We show that highly oxidizing valence band holes, produced by ultraviolet (UV) illumination of naturally occurring semiconducting minerals, are capable of oxidizing chloride ion to perchlorate in aqueous solutions at higher rates than other known natural perchlorate production processes. Our results support an alternative to atmospheric reactions leading to the formation of high concentrations of perchlorate on Mars.

Interfacial morphology and photoelectrochemistry of conjugated polyelectrolytes adsorbed on single crystal TiO2.

The nanoscale morphology and photoactivity of conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) deposited from different solvents onto single crystal TiO(2) were investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photocurrent spectroscopy. CPE surface coverages on TiO(2) could be incremenentally increased by adsorbing the CPEs from static solutions. The solvents used for polymer adsorption influenced the surface morpohology of the CPEs on the TiO(2) surface.

Photochemistry of adsorbed nitrate.

In the atmosphere, gas-phase nitrogen oxides including nitric acid react with particle surfaces (e.g., mineral dust and sea salt aerosol) to yield adsorbed nitrate, yet little is known about the photochemistry of nitrate on the surface of these particles.

FTIR spectroscopy combined with quantum chemical calculations to investigate adsorbed nitrate on aluminium oxide surfaces in the presence and absence of co-adsorbed water.

Surface reactions of nitrogen oxides with aluminium oxide particles result in the formation of adsorbed nitrate. Specifically, when alpha-Al(2)O(3) and gamma-Al(2)O(3) particles are exposed to gas-phase NO(2) and HNO(3) adsorbed nitrate forms on the surface. In this study, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is combined with quantum chemical calculations to further our understanding of the adsorbed nitrate product on aluminium oxide particle surfaces in the presence and absence of co-adsorbed water at 296 K.

Attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to investigate water uptake and phase transitions in atmospherically relevant particles.

In this study, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FT-IR) spectroscopy is used to investigate water uptake and phase transitions for atmospherically relevant particles. Changes in the ATR-FT-IR spectra of NaCl, NH(4) NO(3), (NH(4))(2)SO(4), Ca(NO(3))(2), and SiO(2) as a function of relative humidity (RH) are presented and discussed. For these various particles, water can (1) become adsorbed on the particle surface; and/or (2) become absorbed in the particle structure to form a hydrate salt; and/or (3) become absorbed by the particle to form a liquid solution.