Keggin-type aluminum nanoclusters: synthesis, structural characterization and environmental implications

Recommended Citation Abeysinghe, Samangi. "Keggin-type aluminum nanoclusters: synthesis, structural characterization and environmental implications." The most amazing husband   ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with great respect and honor that I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Tori Forbes for all the support and guidance rendered to me during the completion of my dissertation and providing me the opportunity to explore a new area of chemistry. Thank you Dr. Forbes, for being the best advisor ever! I would like to thank College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The University of Iowa for funding this work. A special thank goes to Dr. Daniel Unruh for the guidance given to me in solving crystal structures and all Forbes group members, Josh, Jacob, Mellissa etc. who were there with me during my stay in The University of Iowa. Thesis Committee and for their extensive support in all the revisions and discussions. use of FT-IR instrument. I would like to extend my heart felt gratitude to all my teachers whom I met during my life, especially the faculty at the for all the guidance given to me in becoming the person who I am today. Last but not the least I wish to extend my gratitude to my husband and my mother inclusive of other family members for their love and courage given to me in making this journey a success. ABSTRACT Hydrolysis products of aluminum that exist in aqueous solutions play an important role in controlling the fate and transport of contaminants and are also used for coagulants to purification of wastewater streams. Adsorption of contaminants such as heavy metals and organics are widely recognized, but the molecular level understanding of the mechanism of action has not been clearly defined. In this research we present the crystallization, structural characterization and chemical characterization of three novel Keggin-type aluminum polycations including ((ZnAl 32) where IDA = iminodiacetic acid, NTA-Nitrilotriacetic acid, and 2,6 NDS = 2,6 napthalene disulfonate. These compounds are the first ever reported Keggin-type aluminum species that have been functionalized with organics and heavy metal cations. Structural characterization of these compounds was done by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction along with FTIR, TGA, SEM/EDS and PXRD techniques for chemical characterization. This study provides more insight into the coagulation process and can be employed in developing optimized coagulants for enhanced water purification.