Analysis in High Ionic Strength Solutions

Researchers at the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY are using the ZetaPlus Potential Analyzer from Brookhaven Instruments to understand environmentally relevant properties at the nanomolecular scale. The addition of Brookhaven's Phase Analysis Light Scattering (PALS) facility allows surface charge measurements of iron mono-sulfide, generated by bacteria contained within marine sediment, to be taken in high ionic strength solutions including seawater. Professor Martin Schoonen, director of the Aqueous Geochemistry laboratory explained: "We are interested in characterizing the interactions of a metal with an earth material and the size of the material that is forming in situ. It is critical for us to be able to measure the surface charge of iron mono-sulfide in seawater conditions as this changes the properties of the particles and the ZetaPlus Analyzer with PALS is the only instrument that offers us this option. The ZetaPlus Analyzer is a very robust machine, easy to use and came with impressive service. Brookhaven staff has shown a really genuine interest in what we are doing and how they could help us achieve our needs."