DISSOLUTION KINETICS AT THE CALCITE-WATER INTERFACE

Abstract

Although many geochemical processes, including mineral dissolution, are controlled by kinetic mechanisms, quantitative descriptions of the reaction kinetics are mostly lacking, principally due to an incomplete understanding of the molecular-scale processes controlling these reactions. In this paper, a combined experimental and theoretical approach involving atomic force microscopy, an analytical terrace-ledge-kink model, and kinetic Monte Carlo computer simulations was used to study the aqueous dissolution kinetics of the calcite (10\-14) surface. The study provides a determination of the elementary rates and activation energies associated with dissolution at specific kink sites on the calcite surface.