title: Study of the Dissolution of the Barium Sulfate (001) Surface with Hydrochloric Acid by Atomic Force Microscopy.
abstract: Noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) has been used to investigate the morphological changes of a freshly cleaved (001) surface of barium sulfate (barite) etched with an aqueous solution of 0.1 M HCl at room temperature. Shallow triangular etch pits with a height of 3.6 Å were developed in atomically flat (001) terraces. The etching of the surface was found to proceed in a layer-by-layer dissolution process. Because the crystal structure of barite exhibits a two-fold screw axis parallel to the c axis, "alternating" etch pits were formed, with any two consecutive etch pits pointing opposite to each other. These etch pits became deeper and more elongated along the b axis with time. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 90089
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Resch
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Koel
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Shuler
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.initials: Hj
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Yen