Abstract
Knowledge of the structure and composition of the solid phases of a soil is needed to understand the retention mechanisms of transition metals or organic pollutants on the molecular scale. With this aim, the characterization of a soil sample from the Champagne-Ardenne region was carried out using various non-destructive methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (TEM-EDX), Mossbauer and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and protometric studies. The combination of these techniques allowed us to obtain a precise knowledge of the solid structure and composition. We showed that soil particles consist of quartz, alumino-silicate and goethite which are partially covered by organic matter. XPS spectra showed that organic matter is preferentially coated onto an alumino-silicate surface. EPR spectroscopy revealed the presence of unexpected vanadyl moieties in the organic matter. Acid-base titrations provided information on available surface sites (0.25 mmol × g -1 , i.e. 2.25 sites per nm 2 ), and the point of zero charge pH zpc (3.9).
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