The structure of metamict zircon: A temperature-dependent EXAFS study

The thermal annealing (300–1700 K) of two metamict zircons (Ampagabe, Madagascar and Näegy, Japan) has been studied using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) at Zr K-edge. Two stages of thermal annealing within the aperiodic zircon are evidenced between 293 and 1700 K. The first stage (up to 600° C) shows a decrease of the a ₀-cell parameter from 6.674 (at 300° C) to 6.610 (at 600° C)± 0.005 Å. In that temperature range, the average local environment around Zr (presence of ^VIIZr and d(Zr-Zr) 3.3–3.6 Å) shows a weak, but significant increase of the Zr-Zr correlations located at 3.3–3.4 Å, undetectable by XRD. At temperatures up to 700° C (stage 2), the XRD-Bragg component arising from crystalline zircon increases in magnitude, whereas, Zr-K EXAFS analysis indicates a progressive ^VIIZr^VIIIZr transition, associated with a recovery of the crystalline zircon medium-range environment. For both techniques, the zircon structure is fully recovered at annealing temperatures up to 900° C.Electrostatic modelings suggest that the ^VIIIZr^VIIZr transition observed in zircon with increasing alpha-decay damage creates significantly overbonded oxygen atoms around Zr. With increasing temperature, those oxygen atoms are better bonded to ^VIIZr, due to the thermal expansion of the Zr-O bond. The congruent recovery of the zircon structure should therefore be favoured with increasing temperature. On the other hand, the metamict network can be also partially reorganized around 400–500° C, with the creation of Zr-rich domains, as measured by EXAFS. However, the growth of these domains after 3 hours annealing affects only minor portions of the aperiodic network. This model is corroborated by a similar thermal behaviour observed for a synthetic sol-gel of ZrO₂ · SiO₂ composition.     

蒙脱石/胡敏酸复合体对重金属离子吸附实验研究

主要研究了蒙脱石吸附胡敏酸后形成的复合体对Cu2 、Cd2 、Cr3 3种重金属离子的吸附.实验结果表明:用胡敏酸对蒙脱石改性后能提高其对3种重金属离子的吸附性能,胡敏酸浓度越大,吸附性能提高程度越大,3种重金属离子的Langmuir吸附等温线线性相关都能达到0.99以上.蒙脱石/胡敏酸复合体对3种重金属离子的吸附量都随pH值的升高而增加,随离子强度的增加而减小.另外还对其吸附动力学进行了研究,发现可用Elovicb方程和双常数方程对吸附过程进行较好地拟合.     

Coordination of Cd ions in the internal pore system of zeolite-X: A combined EXAFS and isotopic exchange study

The effect of prolonged contact time (up to 130 days) on the immobilization of Cd by sorption to calcium exchanged zeolite-X (CaX), under environmentally relevant conditions, was studied using both isotopic exchange and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). Sorption and isotopic exchange measurements revealed time-dependent Cd sorption and indicated the movement of Cd²⁺ ions into less accessible sites due to ageing. EXAFS suggested progressive fixation of Cd in the double six-ring (D6R) unit of the CaX structure. Proportional allocation of the apparent Cd-Si bond distance to two ‘end-members’, across all contact times, indicated that the bond distance for labile Cd was 3.41 Å and for non-labile (or fixed) Cd was 3.47 Å.     

Effect of groundwater fulvic acid on the adsorption of arsenate by ferrihydrite and gibbsite

Adsorption studies have been conducted at pH 4, 6 and 8 to assess the effect of fulvic acid on arsenate adsorption to ferrihydrite and gibbsite. The studies compared the adsorption of arsenate on the mineral surfaces in the absence of fulvic acid, to those cases where increasing concentrations of fulvic acid (0.3–60 μM) were added to the mineral–arsenate suspensions. Experiments where arsenate was added to mineral–fulvate suspensions were also conducted. The results suggest that arsenate adsorption on both gibbsite and ferrihydrite decreases with increasing concentrations of fulvic acid. This effect was highest at pH 4, and decreased at pH 6 and 8. Ferrous ion concentrations were very low during the ferrihydrite experiments and support the view that fulvic acid can both displace arsenate from and inhibited its adsorption to mineral surfaces. The experiments also indicated that the amount of arsenate adsorbed was lower if fulvic acid was added before rather than after arsenate. This may reflect the relative size of arsenate and fulvic acid molecules and their ability to penetrate the crystal matrices of the minerals.     

An EXAFS study of Gd,Er and Lu site location in the epidote structure

L _III edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra of Gd, Er and Lu environments in synthetic epidotes of composition CaLa_0.9 X _0.1Al₂MgSi₃O₁₃H (X=Gd or Er or Lu) were recorded using synchrotron radiation. The Fourier transforms of the Gd-, Er- and Lu-EXAFS are clearly different from one another indicating wholly or partially different site occupancy. Model fitting of the Fourier-filtered partial EXAFS and comparison of pair distribution functions with those calculated for natural epidote leads to the conclusion that three different sites are probably involved in the accommodation of these elements in the epidote structure, and that site preference is a function of the rare earth ionic size. Gd is located in A2-type sites, whereas the local atomic environment of Er is consistent with A1 site occupancy and the Lu environment has been modelled on an M3-type octahedral site.     

XPS spectra of uranyl minerals and synthetic uranyl compounds. I: The U 4f spectrum

The occurrence and binding energies of the U⁶⁺, U⁵⁺ and U⁴⁺ bands in the U 4f_7/2 peak of 19 uranyl minerals of different composition and structure were measured by XPS. The results suggest that these minerals can be divided into the following four groups: (1) Uranyl-hydroxy-hydrate compounds with no or monovalent interstitial cations; (2) Uranyl-hydroxy-hydrate minerals with divalent interstitial cations; (3) Uranyl-oxysalt minerals with (TO_n) groups (T = Si, P, and C) in which all equatorial O-atoms of the uranyl-polyhedra are shared with (TO_n) groups; (4) Uranyl-oxysalt minerals with (TO_n) groups (T = S and Se), in which some equatorial O-atoms are shared only between uranyl polyhedra. The average binding energies of the U⁶⁺and U⁴⁺ bands shift to lower values with (1) incorporation of divalent cations and (2) increase in the Lewis basicity of the anion group bonded to U. The first observation is a consequence of an increase in the bond-valence transfer from the interstitial species (cations, H₂O) groups to the O-atoms of the uranyl-groups, which results in an electron transfer from O to U⁶⁺. The second trend correlates with an increase in the covalency of the UO bonds with increase in Lewis basicity of the anion group, which results in a shift of the electron density from O to U. The presence of U⁴⁺ on the surface of uranyl minerals can be detected by the shape of the U 4f_7/2 peak, and the occurrence of the U 5f peak and satellite peaks belonging to the U 4f_5/2 peak. The presence of U⁴⁺ in some of the uranyl minerals and synthetics examined may be related to the conditions during their formation. A charge-balance mechanism is proposed for the incorporation of lower-valence U in the structure of uranyl minerals. Exposure of a Na-substituted metaschoepite crystal in air and to Ultra-High Vacuum results in dehydration of its surface structure associated with a shift of the U⁶⁺ bands to higher binding energies. The latter observation indicates a shift in electron density from U to O, which must be related to structural changes inside the upper surface layers of Na-substituted metaschoepite.     

The combined inelastic neutron scattering and solid state DFT study of hydrogen atoms dynamics in a highly ordered kaolinite

The dynamics of the hydrogen atoms in the highly ordered kaolinite was studied by vibrational spectroscopy based on inelastic neutron scattering method with the focus on the spectral region of 100–1,250 cm⁻¹. The experimental spectrum was interpreted by means of the solid state density functional theory calculations covering both normal mode analysis and molecular dynamics going beyond the harmonic approximation. The Al–O–H bending modes were found to be spread over the large interval of 100–1,100 cm⁻¹, with the dominant contributions located between 800 and 1,100 cm^-1. The shapes of the individual hydrogen spectra depend on the strengths of the individual interlayer O–H···O hydrogen bonds involving the inner surface hydroxyl groups. The modes assigned to the in-plane movements of the respective hydrogen atoms are well-defined and always appear on the top of the intervals of energy transfer. In contrast, the modes generated by the out-of-plane movements are spread over large intervals of energies spanning down to the region of external (lattice) modes.     

XPS spectra of uranyl minerals and synthetic uranyl compounds. II: The O 1s spectrum

The O 1s spectrum is examined for 19 uranyl minerals of different composition and structure. Spectra from single crystals were measured with a Kratos Axis Ultra X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer with a magnetic-confinement charge-compensation system. Well-resolved spectra with distinct maxima, shoulders and inflections points, in combination with reported and measured binding energies for specific O²⁻ species and structural data of the uranyl minerals are used to resolve the fine structure of the O 1s envelope. The resolution of the O 1s spectra includes, for the first time, different O²⁻ bands, which are assigned to O atoms linking uranyl with uranyl polyhedra (UOU) and O atoms of uranyl groups (OUO). The resolved bands in the O 1s spectrum occur at distinct ranges in binding energy: bands for (UOU) occur at 529.6-530.4 eV, bands for (OUO) occur at 530.6-531.4 eV, bands for O²⁻ in the equatorial plane of the uranyl polyhedra linking uranyl polyhedra with (TO_n) groups (T = Si, S, C, P, Se) (TO) occur at 530.9-532.2 eV; bands for (OH) groups in the equatorial plane of the uranyl polyhedra (OH) occur at 532.0-532.5 eV, bands of (H₂O) groups in the interstitial complex of the uranyl minerals (H₂O_interst) occur at 533.0-533.8 eV and bands of physisorbed (H₂O) groups on the surface of uranyl minerals (H₂O_adsorb) occur at 534.8-535.2 eV. Treatment of uranyl minerals with acidic solutions results in a decrease in UOU and an increase in OH. Differences in the ratio of OH : OUO between the surface and bulk structure is larger for uranyl minerals with a high number of UOU and TO species in the bulk structure which is explained by protonation of underbonded UO, UOU and TO terminations on the surface. The difference in the ratio of H₂O_interst : OUO between the bulk and surface structures is larger for uranyl minerals with higher percentages of H₂O_interst as well as, with a higher number of interstitial H₂O groups that are not bonded to interstitial cations, resulting in easier dehydration of interstitial H₂O groups in uranyl minerals during exposure to a vacuum.     

The long-term fate of Cu, Zn, and Pb adsorption complexes at the calcite surface: An X-ray absorption spectroscopy study

In this study, the speciation of Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cu²⁺ ions sorbed at the calcite surface was monitored during a 2.5-year reaction period, using extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize metal speciation on the molecular scale. Experiments were performed using pre-equilibrated calcite-water suspensions of pH 8.3, at metal concentrations below the solubility of metal hydroxide and carbonate precipitates, and at constant metal surface loadings. The EXAFS results indicate that all three metals remained coordinated at the calcite surface as inner-sphere adsorption complexes during the 2.5-year ageing period, with no evidence to suggest slow formation of dilute metal-calcite solid solutions under the reaction conditions employed. All three divalent metals were found to form non-octahedral complexes upon coordination to the calcite surface, with Zn²⁺ adsorbing as a tetrahedral complex, Cu²⁺ as a Jahn-Teller distorted octahedral complex, and Pb²⁺ coordinating as a trigonal- or square-pyramidal surface complex. The non-octahedral configurations of these surface complexes may have hindered metal transfer from the calcite surface into the bulk, where Ca²⁺ is in octahedral coordination with respect to first-shell O. The use of pre-equilibrated calcite suspensions, with no net calcite dissolution or precipitation, likely prevented metal incorporation into the lattice as a result of surface recrystallization. The results from this study imply that ageing alone does not increase the stability of Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cu²⁺ partitioning to calcite if equilibrium with the solution is maintained during reaction; under these conditions, these metals are likely to remain available for exchange even after extended sorption times.     

Antimony speciation in saline hydrothermal fluids: A combined X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and solubility study

Solubility of senarmontite (Sb₂O₃, cubic) in pure water and NaCl-HCl aqueous solutions, and local atomic structure around antimony in these fluids were characterized using in situ X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy at temperatures to 450 °C and pressures to 600 bars. These experiments were performed using a new X-ray cell which allows simultaneous measurement of the absolute concentration of the absorbing element in the fluid, and atomic environment around the absorber. Results show that aqueous Sb(III) speciation is dominated by the complex in pure water, mixed Sb-hydroxide-chloride complexes in acidic NaCl-HCl solutions (2 m NaCl-0.1 m HCl), and by Sb-chloride species in concentrated HCl solutions (3.5 m HCl). Interatomic Sb-O and Sb-Cl distances in these complexes range from 1.96 to 1.97 Å and from 2.37 to 2.47 Å, respectively. These structural data, together with senarmontite solubility determined from XAFS spectra, were complemented by batch-reactor measurements of senarmontite and stibnite (Sb₂S₃, rhombic) solubilities over a wide range of HCl and NaCl concentrations from 300 to 400 °C. Analysis of the whole dataset shows that Sb(III) speciation in high-temperature moderately acid (pH > 2-3) Cl-rich fluids is dominated by mixed hydroxy-chloride species like Sb(OH)₂Cl° and Sb(OH)₃Cl⁻, but other species containing two or three Cl atoms appear at higher acidities and moderate temperatures (?300 °C). Calculations using stability constants retrieved in this study indicate that mixed hydroxy-chloride complexes control antimony transport in saline high-temperature ore fluids at acidic conditions. Such species allow for a more effective Sb partitioning into the vapor phase during boiling and vapor-brine separation processes occurring in magmatic-hydrothermal systems. Antimony hydroxy-chloride complexes are however minor in the neutral low- to moderate-temperature solutions (?250-300 °C) typical of Sb deposits formation; the antimony speciation in these systems is dominated by Sb(OH)₃ and potentially Sb-sulfide species.     

An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of the adsorption of copper complexes on montmorillonite and imogolite

The adsorption of three copper species, the hydrated cupric ion, bisglycine Cu(II) and a Cu(II)-humic acid complex, on montmorillonite and imogolite at pH 7 was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The spectra of the supernatant solutions indicated that adsorption of the glycine complexes was very much less than that of the uncomplexed ion for both minerals and that montmorillonite adsorbed significantly more Cu from the humic acid solution than did imogolite. In every case the adsorbed Cu was characterized by more than one type of chemical environment and the spectral parameters show differences between the adsorbed species depending on their freedom of movement and their mode and site of adsorption. Qualitatively similar spectra were obtained when the uncomplexed ion was adsorbed on either of the mineral species and it is suggested that simple Cu(II) ions were involved and that their coordination environments comprised water molecules and hydroxyl groups. With the bisglycine Cu(II) complexes, the spectra were characterized by two components which may be accounted for by adsorption at two different types of site in the structures. In each case one component had parameters that are similar to those of the bisglycine Cu(II) in the solid state, but the second component in the spectra of the montmorillonite sample was quite different to that obtained with imogolite. The Cu(II)-humic acid complex with montmorillonite gave spectra that were similar to that from copper humate, but with imogolite the spectra from the Cu(II)-humic acid system were similar to those obtained with the uncomplexed Cu(II) ion, indicating that imogolite is able to extract copper from humic acid.     

Zinc surface complexes on birnessite: A density functional theory study

Biogeochemical cycling of zinc is strongly influenced by sorption on birnessite minerals (layer-type MnO₂), which are found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic environments. Zinc has been observed to form both tetrahedral (Zn^IV) and octahedral (Zn^VI) triple-corner-sharing surface complexes (TCS) at Mn(IV) vacancy sites in hexagonal birnessite. The octahedral complex is expected to be similar to that of Zn in the Mn oxide mineral, chalcophanite (ZnMn₃O₇·3H₂O), but the reason for the occurrence of the four-coordinate Zn surface species remains unclear. We address this issue computationally using spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) to examine the Zn^IV-TCS and Zn^VI-TCS species. Structural parameters obtained by DFT geometry optimization were in excellent agreement with available experimental data on Zn-birnessites. Total energy, magnetic moments, and electron overlap populations obtained by DFT for isolated Zn^IV-TCS revealed that this species is stable in birnessite without a need for Mn(III) substitution in the octahedral sheet and that it is more effective in reducing undersaturation of surface O at a Mn vacancy than is Zn^VI-TCS. Comparison between geometry-optimized ZnMn₃O₇·3H₂O (chalcophanite) and the hypothetical monohydrate mineral, ZnMn₃O₇·H₂O, which contains only tetrahedral Zn, showed that the hydration state of Zn significantly affects birnessite structural stability. Finally, our study also revealed that, relative to their positions in an ideal vacancy-free MnO₂, Mn nearest to Zn in a TCS surface complex move toward the vacancy by 0.08-0.11 Å, while surface O bordering the vacancy move away from it by 0.16-0.21 Å, in agreement with recent X-ray absorption spectroscopic analyses.     

Adsorption of Cu(II) to Bacillus subtilis: A pH-dependent EXAFS and thermodynamic modelling study

Bacteria are very efficient sorbents of trace metals, and their abundance in a wide variety of natural aqueous systems means biosorption plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of many elements. We measured the adsorption of Cu(II) to Bacillus subtilis as a function of pH and surface loading. Adsorption edge and XAS experiments were performed at high bacteria-to-metal ratio, analogous to Cu uptake in natural geologic and aqueous environments. We report significant Cu adsorption to B. subtilis across the entire pH range studied (pH ∼2-7), with adsorption increasing with pH to a maximum at pH ∼6. We determine directly for the first time that Cu adsorbs to B. subtilis as a (CuO₅H_n)ⁿ⁻⁸ monodentate, inner-sphere surface complex involving carboxyl surface functional groups. This Cu-carboxyl complex is able to account for the observed Cu adsorption across the entire pH range studied. Having determined the molecular adsorption mechanism of Cu to B. subtilis, we have developed a new thermodynamic surface complexation model for Cu adsorption that is informed by and consistent with EXAFS results. We model the surface electrostatics using the 1pK basic Stern approximation. We fit our adsorption data to the formation of a monodentate, inner-sphere RCOOCu⁺ surface complex. In agreement with previous studies, this work indicates that in order to accurately predict the fate and mobility of Cu in complex biogeochemical systems, we must incorporate the formation of Cu-bacteria surface complexes in reactive transport models. To this end, this work recommends log K RCOOCu⁺ = 7.13 for geologic and aqueous systems with generally high B. subtilis-to-metal ratio.     

The role of Al in the formation of secondary Ni precipitates on pyrophyllite,gibbsite, talc,and amorphous silica: a DRS study

Formation of secondary Ni precipitates is an important mechanism of Ni retention in neutral and alkaline clay/water systems. However, the structure and composition of these secondary phases, and their stability is still disputable. Using existing structure refinement data and new ab-initio FEFF 7 calculations we show that Ni-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy alone may not be able to unequivocally discriminate four possible candidate compounds: α-Ni(OH)₂, the isostructural but Al-substituted layered double hydroxide (Ni-Al LDH), and 1:1 and 2:1 Ni-containing phyllosilicates. Hence, we investigated the potential of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) in determining in situ the Ni phase forming in the presence of four sorbents, pyrophyllite, talc, gibbsite, and amorphous silica. The ³A_2g → ³T_1g(F) band (ν2) of octahedrally coordinated Ni²⁺ could be reliably extracted from the reflectance spectra of wet pastes. In the presence of the Al-free talc and amorphous silica, the ν2 band was at ≈14,900 cm⁻¹, but shifted to 15,300 cm⁻¹ in the presence of Al-containing pyrophyllite and gibbsite. This shift suggests that Al is dissolved from the sorbent and substitutes for Ni in brucite-like hydroxide layers of the newly forming precipitate phase, causing a decrease of the Ni-O distances and, in turn, an increase of the crystal-field splitting energy. Comparison with Ni model compounds showed that the band at 14,900 cm⁻¹ is a unique fingerprint of α-Ni(OH)₂, and the band at 15,300 cm⁻¹ of Ni-Al LDH. Although the complete transformation of α-Ni(OH)₂ into a Ni phyllosilicate causes a significant contraction of the Ni hydroxide sheet as indicated by band positions intermediate to those of α-Ni(OH)₂ and Ni-Al LDH, incipient states of silication do not influence Ni-O distances and cannot be detected by DRS. The first evidence for the formation of a precipitate was obtained after 5 min (pyrophyllite), 7 hr (talc), 24 hr (gibbsite), and 3 days (amorphous silica). For both pyrophyllite and talc, where sufficiently long time series were available, the ν2 energy slightly increased as long as the Ni uptake from solution continued (3 days for pyrophyllite, 30 days for talc). This may be explained by a relative decrease of relaxed surface sites due to the growth of crystallites. Our study shows that the formation of both α-Ni(OH)₂ and Ni-Al LDH may effectively decrease aqueous Ni concentrations in soils and sediments. However, Ni-Al LDH seems to be thermodynamically favored when Al is available.     

Experimental study of germanium adsorption on goethite and germanium coprecipitation with iron hydroxide: X-ray absorption fine structure and macroscopic characterization

Adsorption of germanium on goethite was studied at 25 °C in batch reactors as a function of pH (1-12), germanium concentration in solution (10⁻⁷ to 0.002 M) and solid/solution ratio (1.8-17 g/L). The maximal surface site density determined via Ge adsorption experiments at pH from 6 to 10 is equal to 2.5 ± 0.1 μmol/m². The percentage of adsorbed Ge increases with pH at pH < 9, reaches a maximum at pH ∼ 9 and slightly decreases when pH is further increased to 11. These results allowed generation of a 2-pK Surface Complexation Model (SCM) which implies a constant capacitance of the electric double layer and postulates the presence of two Ge complexes, and , at the goethite-solution interface. Coprecipitation of Ge with iron oxy(hydr)oxides formed during Fe(II) oxidation by atmospheric oxygen or by Fe(III) hydrolysis in neutral solutions led to high Ge incorporations in solid with maximal Ge/Fe molar ratio close to 0.5. The molar Ge/Fe ratio in precipitated solid is proportional to that in the initial solution according to the equation (Ge/Fe)_solid = k × (Ge/Fe)_solution with 0.7 ? k ? 1.0. The structure of adsorbed and coprecipitated Ge complexes was further characterized using XAFS spectroscopy. In agreement with previous data on oxyanions adsorption on goethite, bi-dentate bi-nuclear surface complexes composed of tetrahedrally coordinated Ge attached to the corners of two adjacent Fe octahedra represent the dominant contribution to the EXAFS signal. Coprecipitated samples with Ge/Fe molar ratios >0.1, and samples not aged in solution (<1 day) having intermediate Ge/Fe ratios (0.01-0.1) show 4 ± 0.3 oxygen atoms at 1.76 ± 0.01 Å around Ge. Samples less concentrated in Ge (0.001 < Ge/Fe < 0.10) and aged longer times in solution (up to 280 days) exhibit a splitting of the first atomic shell with Ge in both tetrahedral (R = 1.77 ± 0.02 Å) and octahedral (R = 1.92 ± 0.03 Å) coordination with oxygen. In these samples, octahedrally coordinated Ge accounts for up to ∼20% of the total Ge. For the least concentrated samples (Ge/Fe < 0.001-0.0001) containing lepidocrocite, 30-50% of total co-precipitated germanium substitutes for Fe in octahedral sites with the next-nearest environment dominated by edge-sharing GeO₆-FeO₆ linkages (R_Ge-Fe ∼ 3.06 Å). It follows from the results of our study that the largest structural change of Ge (from tetrahedral to octahedral environment) occurs during its coprecipitation with Fe hydroxide at Ge/Fe molar ratio ?0.0001. These conditions are likely to be met in many superficial aquatic environments at the contact of anoxic groundwaters with surficial oxygenated solutions. Adsorption and coprecipitation of Ge with solid Fe oxy(hydr)oxides and organo-mineral colloids and its consequence for Ge/Si fractionation and Ge geochemical cycle are discussed.     

Dissolution/precipitation kinetics of boehmite and gibbsite: Application of a pH-relaxation technique to study near-equilibrium rates

The dissolution and precipitation rates of boehmite, AlOOH, at 100.3 °C and limited precipitation kinetics of gibbsite, Al(OH)₃, at 50.0 °C were measured in neutral to basic solutions at 0.1 molal ionic strength (NaCl + NaOH + NaAl(OH)₄) near-equilibrium using a pH-jump technique with a hydrogen-electrode concentration cell. This approach allowed relatively rapid reactions to be studied from under- and over-saturation by continuous in situ pH monitoring after addition of basic or acidic titrant, respectively, to a pre-equilibrated, well-stirred suspension of the solid powder. The magnitude of each perturbation was kept small to maintain near-equilibrium conditions. For the case of boehmite, multiple pH-jumps at different starting pHs from over- and under-saturated solutions gave the same observed, first order rate constant consistent with the simple or elementary reaction: .

This relaxation technique allowed us to apply a steady-state approximation to the change in aluminum concentration within the overall principle of detailed balancing and gave a resulting mean rate constant, (2.2 ± 0.3) × 10⁻⁵ kg m⁻² s⁻¹, corresponding to a 1σ uncertainty of 15%, in good agreement with those obtained from the traditional approach of considering the rate of reaction as a function of saturation index. Using the more traditional treatment, all dissolution and precipitation data for boehmite at 100.3 °C were found to follow closely the simple rate expression:

R_net,boehmite=10^-5.485{m_OH^-}{1-exp(ΔG_r/RT)}, with R_net in units of mol m⁻² s⁻¹. This is consistent with Transition State Theory for a reversible elementary reaction that is first order in OH⁻ concentration involving a single critical activated complex. The relationship applies over the experimental ΔG_r range of 0.4–5.5 kJ mol⁻¹ for precipitation and −0.1 to −1.9 kJ mol⁻¹ for dissolution, and the pH_m ≡ −log(mH⁺) range of 6–9.6. The gibbsite precipitation data at 50 °C could also be treated adequately with the same model:R_net,gibbsite=10^-5.86{m_OH^-}{1-exp(ΔG_r/RT)}, over a more limited experimental range of ΔG_r (0.7–3.7 kJ mol⁻¹) and pH_m (8.2–9.7).     

Arsenic incorporation into FeS2 pyrite and its influence on dissolution: A DFT study

FeS₂ pyrite can incorporate large amounts of arsenic (up to ca. 10 wt%) and hence has a strong impact on the mobility of this toxic metalloid. Focussing on the lowest arsenic concentrations for which the incorporation occurs in solid solution, the substitution mechanisms involved have been investigated by assuming simple incorporation reactions in both oxidising and reducing conditions. The solution energies were calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and we predict that the formation of AsS dianion groups is the most energetically favourable mechanism. The results also suggest that the presence of arsenic will accelerate the dissolution and thus the generation of acid drainage, when the crystal dissolves in oxidising conditions.     

Structure of Mn and Fe oxides and oxyhydroxides: A topological approach by EXAFS

The structure of Mn and Fe oxides and oxyhydroxides has been probed by EXAFS. It is shown that EXAFS spectroscopy is sensitive to the nature of interpolyhedral linkages relying on metal-two nearest metal distances. Spectra recorded at 290 K and 30 K indicate that intercationic distances can be determined by EXAFS with a good accuracy (0.02 Å) assuming a purely Gaussian distribution function, even at room temperature. Although the accuracy on atomic numbers determination is fair for these disordered systems, EXAFS can differentiate structures with contrasted edge- over corner-sharing ratio like pyrolusite, ramsdellite, todorokite and lithiophorite or lepidocrocite and goethite. A direct application of this result has shown that the proportion of pyrolusite domains within the lattice of nsutite from Ghana is equal to 35±15 percent. The systematic study of Mn dioxides also put forward the sensitivity of EXAFS to the presence of corner-sharing octahedra, with a detection limit found to be less than 8 percent. In spite of their similar XRD patterns, the EXAFS study of todorokite and asbolane confirms that they possess a distinct structure; that is, a tunnel structure for the former and a layered structure for the second. Such a topological approach has been used to probe the structure of ferruginous vernadite; a highly disordered iron-bearing Mn oxide. Fe and Mn K-edges EXAFS spectra are very dissimilar, traducing a different short range order. The Mn phase is constituted by MnO₂ layers. Its large local structural order contrasts with the short range disorder of the iron phase. This hydrous Fe oxyhydroxide is constituted by face-, edge- and corner-sharing octahedra. This iron phase possesses the same local order as feroxy-hyte, but is long range disordered. The presence of face-sharing Fe(O,OH)₆ octahedra prevents its direct solid-state transformation into well crystallized oxyhydroxides, and explains the necessary dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism generally invoked for the hydrous ferric gel → goethite transformation.     

A surface structural model for ferrihydrite II: Adsorption of uranyl and carbonate

The adsorption of uranyl (UO₂²⁺) on ferrihydrite has been evaluated with the charge distribution (CD) model for systems covering a very large range of conditions, i.e. pH, ionic strength, CO₂ pressure, U(VI) concentration, and loading. Modeling suggests that uranyl forms bidentate inner sphere complexes at sites that do not react chemically with carbonate ions. Uranyl is bound by singly-coordinated surface groups present at particular edges of Fe-octahedra of ferrihydrite while another set of singly-coordinated surface groups may form double-corner bidentate complexes with carbonate ions. The uranyl surface speciation strongly changes in the presence of carbonate due to the specific adsorption of carbonate ions as well as the formation of ternary uranyl-carbonate surface complexes. Data analysis with the CD model suggests that a uranyl tris-carbonato surface complex, i.e. (UO₂)(CO₃)₃⁴⁻, is formed. This species is most abundant in systems with a high pH and carbonate concentration. This finding differs significantly from previous interpretations made in the literature. At high pH and low carbonate concentrations, as can be prepared in CO₂-closed systems, the model suggests the additional presence of a ternary uranyl-monocarbonato complex. The binding mode (type A or type B complex) is uncertain. At high uranyl concentrations, uranyl polymerizes at the surface of ferrihydrite giving, for instance, tris-uranyl surface complexes with and without carbonate. The similarities and differences between U(VI) adsorption by goethite and ferrihydrite are discussed from a surface structural point of view.