9315695 Kirkpatrick This research will investigate the local atomic structural environments and dynamical behavior of minerals and model compounds undergoing structural phase transitions (SPTs) and of exchangeable organic and inorganic cations and molecules in clays and a zeolite. The work will take advantage of the unique capabilities of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to probe phenomena occurring at low frequencies in the hertz to 100 MHz range. Specific projects to be undertaken include examination of: (1) structural phase transitions of SiO2- and AlPO4-tridymites, (2) a variety of exchangeable inorganic cations and organic cations and molecules in several important clay minerals, and (3) Na in the prototypical small-pore zeolite analcime. The clay study should elucidate the behavior of specific chemical species in both natural and polluted near-surface geochemical environments.
