Scanning tunneling microscopy of marine hydrothermal sediments

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Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was employed to study the nanometer-scale morphology and topography of marine hydrothermal sediments collected from the Lau Basin and the North Fiji Basin during R/V Sonne cruise SO 35. The mineralogy and bulk chemistry of the sediments were determined prior to STM studies. Samples consist primarily of birnessite or a mixture of todorokite and birnessite. Because manganese oxides are wide bandgap semiconductors that cannot be readily imaged in their natural state, the particles were coated with an approximately 25-nm carbon layer prior to imaging. Low resolution STM images were acquired in the constant current mode. The birnessite surface is characterized by gently sloped topography and smaller scale knolls and depressions; less commonly distinct elongated growth patterns similar to fibrous todorokite crystals are observed. The surface of todorokite-birnessite particles is more homogeneous with the well-defined parallel ridge and valley topography of fibrous todorokite. Ridges and valleys are interrupted by 7-10-nm terraces and step-like features interpreted to represent edges of aligned tunnel structures. Our observations are consistent with results of previous studies of hydrothermal manganese oxides and suggest that STM is useful for investigating the nanometer-scale surface characteristics of aggregates of wide bandgap semiconductor particles. However, because of 2-3-nm scale artifacts imparted by carbon coating, only features larger than approximately 5 nm can be confidently attributed to the underlying particles.

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