Research areas


My research interests involve the reactions that take place at mineral surfaces, that is:

  • Crystal growth and dissolution processes, including ligand promoted dissolution of metal ions, using both natural chelating agents such as siderophores and anthropogenic chelators such as EDTA and DTPA;
  • Crystal growth inhibition processes using organic inhibitors such as phosphonates and carboxylates;
  • Mineral replacement reactions occurring at fluid/mineral interfaces and the subsequent development of porosity.

My experiments are carried out mainly in a fluid cell of an AFM (Digital Instruments Nanoscope III Multimode and Dimension 3000). I also use electron microscopy to characterise the samples.