PNNL

Abstract

Special Editorial Issue. Iron (Fe) is the most abundant redox-active element at the Earth’s surface. It occurs in diverse host rock lithologies, sediments, and soils as accessory oxide and oxyhydroxide minerals and nanoparticles that can dominate the reactive mineral/water interfacial area. Furthermore, designer Fe oxide nanoparticles produced to exploit the catalytic properties of specific mineral surfaces continue to undergo rapid development and deployment for a variety of purposes, including environmental remediation. The structure, charge, and chemical dynamics at these interfaces with aqueous solutions strongly impacts their interaction with other elements, organics, and contaminants. The influence of important environmental factors, especially oxygen concentration, natural organic matter, microbes, etc. remain poorly understood. Key interfacial processes can be driven by both biotic and abiotic mechanisms.