Project Team
Students
Logan Vogelsong
Chemical Engineering
Penn State Harrisburg
Faculty Mentors
Abu Asaduzzaman
Penn State Harrisburg
Chemistry
Jose Fuentes
Penn State University Park
Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
Project
Project Video
Project Abstract
Mercury is released into the atmosphere as Hg(0) where its oxidized under ultraviolet light to form oxidized mercury compounds. Concentrations of toxic mercury bioaccumulates in the arctic regions causing harm to the wildlife and native people, but the mechanism of how oxidized mercury is entering the water supply is not well understood. One possible process is the adsorption onto ice sheets and subsequently melting with the ice into the water supply. Density Functional Theory (DFT) was applied to calculate binding energies and to determine if this process is stable. These compounds can interact with ice sheets in different orientations; parallelly or perpendicularly to the surface. Presented in the work are the adsorption energies of various mercury containing molecules. BrHgXO and BrHgOX (X = Cl, Br, and I) molecules tend to have the highest adsorption to the ice sheet when oriented perpendicularly or parallelly. This study will help understand mercury transportation in the arctic aquatic system.
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