Redox Reactions of Iron and Carbon in Soot Samples
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC 137B
Start Date
16-5-2013
End Date
16-5-2013
Abstract
Automobiles contribute more to global air pollution than any other source and one of the most harmful emission components to human health is the carbon-based particulate matter, known as soot. These particulates are often bound to heavy metals, primarily iron, which is known to increase soot toxicity upon inhalation. However, the processes by which these compounds are formed during combustion, emission and subsequently in the atmosphere are ill-defined. The purpose of this research is to induce and study iron-soot redox reactions under emulated conditions of an automobile tailpipe as well as under ambient atmospheric conditions to increase our understanding of the processes that control iron speciation and surface functional groups of soot. Iron is analyzed via UV-Vis Spectrophotometry and soot surfaces will be examined with X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Results show that under reducing environments, without the presence of sunlight, iron is reduced significantly in the presence of soot, which confirms that toxicity of soot is dependent on the reducing conditions encountered within the tailpipe as well as the amount of time that an aerosol ages before inhalation.
Recommended Citation
Straub-Walden, Andrew and Casique, Hector, "Redox Reactions of Iron and Carbon in Soot Samples" (2013). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 125.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2013/oralpresentations/125
Additional Mentoring Department
Chemistry
Redox Reactions of Iron and Carbon in Soot Samples
SURC 137B
Automobiles contribute more to global air pollution than any other source and one of the most harmful emission components to human health is the carbon-based particulate matter, known as soot. These particulates are often bound to heavy metals, primarily iron, which is known to increase soot toxicity upon inhalation. However, the processes by which these compounds are formed during combustion, emission and subsequently in the atmosphere are ill-defined. The purpose of this research is to induce and study iron-soot redox reactions under emulated conditions of an automobile tailpipe as well as under ambient atmospheric conditions to increase our understanding of the processes that control iron speciation and surface functional groups of soot. Iron is analyzed via UV-Vis Spectrophotometry and soot surfaces will be examined with X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Results show that under reducing environments, without the presence of sunlight, iron is reduced significantly in the presence of soot, which confirms that toxicity of soot is dependent on the reducing conditions encountered within the tailpipe as well as the amount of time that an aerosol ages before inhalation.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Anne Johansen