Dissolution of minerals is involved in many geochemical and environmental questions, among which the durability of mineral materials, management of nuclear wastes, sequestration of atmospheric CO2 � Progresses have been made recently in our understanding of dissolution, particularly concerning the role of etch pits, influence of mineral history � One remaining problem is the influence of an elastic stress on the nature and rate of dissolution. For instance pressure solution creep, a plastic strain mechanism based on the dissolution enhancement by an external stress, is not yet fully understood. We present here a first experimental evidence of the influence of a local stress on a molecular elementary mechanism of dissolution, performed by atomic force microscopy observation of the migration of a molecular step on the surface of a gypsum single crystal during dissolution, where the AFM tip is used alternatively to apply a stress and probe the surface. Figure 1. <img src='https://acs-archive-assets2.s3.amazonaws.com/239nm/uploads/14979_rxn_for_acs.jpg' alt='' />

Influence of a local stress on the dissolution of a mineral

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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