Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 18-24 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | ELEMENTS |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 17 Feb 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2025 |
Abstract
Minerals can precipitate from aqueous solutions via a fascinating variety of pathways. Classically, these pathways were thought to be initiated by a single-step nucleation mechanism. Over the past two decades, several investigations revealed that minerals can form through multi-step processes, from dissolved single ions to the final stable crystal. Depending on the mineral system under investigation and its environment, alternative mechanisms are possible, including ion-by-ion aggregation and agglomeration of clusters of ions. Intermediate species can be intriguingly variable: from ion pairs and ion clusters, to dense liquids, amorphous phases, meso- and (charged) nanocrystals. Here we provide a summarized overview of our current knowledge about processes taking place during the prenucleation stage.
Keywords
- amorphous precursors, charged triple-ion clusters, ion pairs, mineral formation, nucleation, pre-nucleation clusters
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: ELEMENTS, Vol. 21, No. 1, 02.2025, p. 18-24.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Early Stages of Mineral Formation in Water
T2 - From Ion Pairs to Crystals
AU - Wolthers, Mariette
AU - Gebauer, Denis
AU - Demichelis, Raffaella
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Mineralogical Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2025/2
Y1 - 2025/2
N2 - Minerals can precipitate from aqueous solutions via a fascinating variety of pathways. Classically, these pathways were thought to be initiated by a single-step nucleation mechanism. Over the past two decades, several investigations revealed that minerals can form through multi-step processes, from dissolved single ions to the final stable crystal. Depending on the mineral system under investigation and its environment, alternative mechanisms are possible, including ion-by-ion aggregation and agglomeration of clusters of ions. Intermediate species can be intriguingly variable: from ion pairs and ion clusters, to dense liquids, amorphous phases, meso- and (charged) nanocrystals. Here we provide a summarized overview of our current knowledge about processes taking place during the prenucleation stage.
AB - Minerals can precipitate from aqueous solutions via a fascinating variety of pathways. Classically, these pathways were thought to be initiated by a single-step nucleation mechanism. Over the past two decades, several investigations revealed that minerals can form through multi-step processes, from dissolved single ions to the final stable crystal. Depending on the mineral system under investigation and its environment, alternative mechanisms are possible, including ion-by-ion aggregation and agglomeration of clusters of ions. Intermediate species can be intriguingly variable: from ion pairs and ion clusters, to dense liquids, amorphous phases, meso- and (charged) nanocrystals. Here we provide a summarized overview of our current knowledge about processes taking place during the prenucleation stage.
KW - amorphous precursors
KW - charged triple-ion clusters
KW - ion pairs
KW - mineral formation
KW - nucleation
KW - pre-nucleation clusters
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85218445099&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2138/gselements.21.1.18
DO - 10.2138/gselements.21.1.18
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85218445099
VL - 21
SP - 18
EP - 24
JO - ELEMENTS
JF - ELEMENTS
SN - 1811-5209
IS - 1
ER -