Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Catechol Effected Dissolution Of Silicate Minerals, James Maurice Kelley

Dissertations and Theses

The chemical properties of guanidinium tris(catecholato)siliconate, [(H₂N)₂C=NH₂]₂[Si(C₆H₄O₂)₃]·XH₂O (0 < X < 1), precipitated from an ammoniacal solution of silica and catechol by adding guanidinium hydrochloride, (H₂N)₂C=NH·HC1, were studied, and infrared, nmr, x-ray powder diffraction, and analytical data were gathered.

This same compound was, upon addition of' (H₂N)₂C=NH·HC1, isolated from 0.25, M aqueous catechol solutions buffered at pH 10 and containing the silicate minerals albite, andradite, muscovite, pyrophyllite, talc, and wollastonite, and also from unbuffered catechol solutions containing wollastonite and andradite.

It is concluded from this work that the formation of an anionic catechol-silicon complex, Si(C₆H₄O₂)₃²⁻, is largely responsible for the dissolution of the minerals mentioned above. From this conclusion, it is proposed that naturally occurring members of the class of organic compounds to which catechol belongs, the aromatic v̲i̲̲c̲-diols, may play …