Mystery of how important aluminum minerals form and dissolve solved with materials science and advanced imaging studies.

Nanosize platelets of an aluminum material slide and join in a staggered orientation to form larger crystals.

IDREAM researchers uncovered how dimeric complexes control how aluminum hydroxide minerals dissolve.

Trace amounts of iron and chromium can incorporate into gibbsite, affecting how the mineral dissolves.

Increasing concentrations of ions slows the rate of particle aggregation in boehmite suspensions.

New IDREAM research explores the effects of electrolyte species on boehmite nanoparticle aggregation in legacy wastes.

Hydrogen atoms released and trapped in irradiated gibbsite are destabilized by synthetic-precursor residuals.

Recycling polyolefin materials is challenging. One waste management strategy is plastic upcycling. New work demonstrates a single-step upcycling route coupling cracking and alkylation, recycling carbon and keeping valuable resources active.

When exposed to a sufficiently high dose of ionizing radiation, gibbsite and boehmite are less susceptible to dehydration-induced breakdown.

IDREAM scientists capture electronic response to ionization.

IDREAM research shows the size of cations in highly concentrated nitrite solutions affects the production of radicals.

Scientists stop the motion of atoms to watch electrons move in liquid water.

Differences in water interactions lead to two gibbsite dissolution pathways modulated by solution acidity.

Irradiation in a sodium hydroxide solution increases the dissolution rate and particle roughness of gibbsite compared to dry irradiation.

IDREAM research shows that keeping only the most important two- and three-body terms in reactive force fields can decrease computational cost by one order of magnitude, while preserving satisfactory accuracy.

Irradiated boehmite nanoplatelets form smaller aggregates and have a rougher surface than non-irradiated platelets.

Hydrogen bonding and proton transfer control the identity and reactivity of molecules in highly concentrated and alkaline aluminate solutions.

Researchers identified a new intermediate phase that forms during the crystallization of hydrated aluminum-containing salts.

The amount of radiation in a system influences how fast aggregated boehmite particles dissolve.

Simulations show that pH influences boehmite nanoparticle structure and sorption ability.