Most of the fresh water on earth exists in the frozen state but chemical reactions in frozen solutions have been not much investigated. We have investigated several homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions in frozen solutions, especially those which have environmental significance and found that many environmental chemical reactions taking place in frozen solutions are significantly different compared to aqueous counterparts. The studied reactions include the photochemical and chemical dissolution of metal oxides, the reductive transformation of hexavalent chromium and bromate, the photooxidation of iodide, and the humification of phenolic compounds. All the above environmental redox chemical reactions occurring in ice (frozen solutions) were markedly accelerated while their aqueous counterpart reactions proceeded very slowly. Such phenomena can be related with the freezing-induced concentration of reactants in the unfrozen ice grain boundaries that should exist between ice crystals. The observed accelerated processes in frozen media may have significant effects on the chemical transformation processes in the cold environment such as polar region, upper atmosphere, and frozen soil.

Environmental chemical reactions in frozen solutions

2019 Fall National Meeting

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