Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are a new class of pollutants known to damage the lungs and heart, as well as catalyze the formation of toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans. EPFRs are known to form on metal oxide nanoparticles’ surface, including iron (III) oxide, and within cation-rich clays. Plane-wave based ab initio computational methods were used to study the mechanism of formation of EPFRs on the 0001-iron terminated surface of iron (III) oxide, as well as the aqueous interlayer of montmorillonite clay. Phenol was used as the precursor to EPFRs. A mechanism for the formation of the EPFR was determined for both systems, suggesting that the hydrogen atom migrated from the phenol to the metal oxide surface and clay interlayer, which resulted in a more stable state in both systems.
","abstract_html":"<p>Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are a new class of pollutants known to damage the lungs and heart, as well as catalyze the formation of toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans. EPFRs are known to form on metal oxide nanoparticles’ surface, including iron (III) oxide, and within cation-rich clays. Plane-wave based ab initio computational methods were used to study the mechanism of formation of EPFRs on the 0001-iron terminated surface of iron (III) oxide, as well as the aqueous interlayer of montmorillonite clay. Phenol was used as the precursor to EPFRs. A mechanism for the formation of the EPFR was determined for both systems, suggesting that the hydrogen atom migrated from the phenol to the metal oxide surface and clay interlayer, which resulted in a more stable state in both systems.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Oumnov, Reuben"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biological Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Randall Hall, PhD","Christine Koh, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2027,"date_issued":"2027-03-28T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2027-03-28T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:06Z","subjects":["EPFR","chemistry","radical","Superfund","iron oxide","montmorillonite clay","Biochemistry","Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology","Life Sciences","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/biological-sciences-masters-theses/47","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Randall Hall, PhD","Christine Koh, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Oumnov, Reuben"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2027-03-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biological Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["EPFR","chemistry","radical","Superfund","iron oxide","montmorillonite clay","Biochemistry","Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology","Life Sciences","Medicine and Health Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/biological-sciences-masters-theses/47"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are a new class of pollutants known to damage the lungs and heart, as well as catalyze the formation of toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans. EPFRs are known to form on metal oxide nanoparticles’ surface, including iron (III) oxide, and within cation-rich clays. Plane-wave based ab initio computational methods were used to study the mechanism of formation of EPFRs on the 0001-iron terminated surface of iron (III) oxide, as well as the aqueous interlayer of montmorillonite clay. Phenol was used as the precursor to EPFRs. A mechanism for the formation of the EPFR was determined for both systems, suggesting that the hydrogen atom migrated from the phenol to the metal oxide surface and clay interlayer, which resulted in a more stable state in both systems.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Formation of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals on the Surface of Iron Oxide and Interior of Montmorillonite Clay"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Randall Hall, PhD","Christine Koh, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Oumnov, Reuben"],"dc:date.available":["2027-03-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are a new class of pollutants known to damage the lungs and heart, as well as catalyze the formation of toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans. EPFRs are known to form on metal oxide nanoparticles’ surface, including iron (III) oxide, and within cation-rich clays. Plane-wave based ab initio computational methods were used to study the mechanism of formation of EPFRs on the 0001-iron terminated surface of iron (III) oxide, as well as the aqueous interlayer of montmorillonite clay. Phenol was used as the precursor to EPFRs. A mechanism for the formation of the EPFR was determined for both systems, suggesting that the hydrogen atom migrated from the phenol to the metal oxide surface and clay interlayer, which resulted in a more stable state in both systems.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/biological-sciences-masters-theses/47"],"dc:subject":["EPFR","chemistry","radical","Superfund","iron oxide","montmorillonite clay","Biochemistry","Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology","Life Sciences","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"dc:title":["Formation of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals on the Surface of Iron Oxide and Interior of Montmorillonite Clay"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biological Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:05:06Z"}