Mineral Surfaces Studied at the Atomic Scale

Mineral surfaces, and in particular mineral-water interfaces, are both ubiquitous in nature and critically relevant for technology [1]. On Earth, these interfaces host many geological, geochemical, and biological processes that are ultimately linked to the global carbon cycle [2].
For example, silicate weathering removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on geological timescales, while carbonates dissolve and precipitate in the oceans to respond to changing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. In clouds, mineral dust particles steer ice nucleation and, thereby, contribute to controlling the climate on Earth [3]. Technologically, mineral-water interfaces are relevant in the context of seawater desalination, scaling and incrustation prevention, or biochemical applications. The deposition of isolated molecular structures, as well as the possibility to precisely tailor defects with robust properties, further render mineral surfaces most relevant for future (opto-)electronic and quantum technology.

This talk will discuss atomic-scale structural properties of prevailing and representative mineral surfaces and their interaction with water at the atomic scale. Non-contact atomic force microscopy with CO-functionalized tips is used to characterize the surfaces with highest resolution. The first water layer on the (104) surfaces of the two prevalent carbonate minerals calcite and dolomite is found to be strongly bound to the surface with the water adsorption geometry precisely determined from high-resolution imaging partnered with ab-initio calculations and image simulations [4,5]. On calcite(104), the water-mineral interaction has a profound influence on the surface reconstruction, where a particular reconstruction lifting mechanism is unraveled [6], while chiral structures are mapped on dolomite(104) surfaces [5]. Weaker water-mineral interactions are identified at the water-fluoride interface; yet, a templating effect on BaF₂(111) surfaces is understood as one source of reduced ice nucleation efficacy. Finally, the talk will give an outlook on our approaches for precise charge measurements on mineral surfaces [7].

[1] A. Putnis, Why Mineral Interfaces Matter, Science 343, 1441 (2014).
[2] D. Archer, The Global Carbon Cycle (Princeton University Press), (2010).
[3] B. J. Murray et al., Chem. Soc. Rev. 41, 6519 (2012).
[4] J. Heggemann, PR et al., ACS Nano 19, 26650 (2025).
[5] P. Laubrock, J. Heggemann, PR et al., Nano Letters, accepted (2026).
[6] J. Heggemann, PR et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 26, 21365 (2024).
[7] D. Heile, PR et al., Phys. Rev. B. 108, 085420 (2023).