In this project, supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, a method for the characterization of ligand binding systems using a continuous affinity distribution will be developed. A local solution to the adsorption integral equation is used to calculate proton affinity distributions for high surface area oxide materials. A detailed knowledge of proton binding sites and distributions will be useful for the a priori design and synthesis of oxide supported metal catalysts. This methodology should also find use in the characterization of various complex substrate/liquid interfaces, including systems encountered in immunology, drug design, and the transport and sequestering of metals in aquatic and soil systems. The very complex solid/liquid interface environment will be examined in the research of this project. A method for the quantitative description of the adsorption of protons on complex oxide substrates will be developed, which will allow the de novo design of oxide supported catalysts. If this work, supported by the Chemistry Division, is fully successful, the approach should also impact environmentally important areas such as heavy metal and halocarbon transport in soil and aquatic systems. A more complete understanding of the complex liquid/solid interface should result from this work.
