The research interests in our group are in the area of environmental chemistry, particularly the treatment of hazardous wastes prior to disposal. Much of our work relates to silicate chemistry, whether it is in clays, zeolites, cements, or synthetic porous solids.
Silicate structures are very common in geochemistry and in construction materials.
So much Portland cement is produced each year that it amounts to more than a ton for every person living on the planet. Yet the chemistry of this system is poorly understood. It is representative of a large number of very important materials which are structurally very complex and, consequently, difficult to characterize. Some of the work includes practical design of waste treatment schemes and their actual implementation in the field. More commonly we are involved in the preparation and characterization of new sorptive materials and the investigation of binding mechanisms with specific wastes.