Iron and Arsenic Speciation During As(III) Oxidation by Manganese Oxides in the Presence of Fe(II): Molecular-Level Characterization Using XAFS, Mössbauer, and TEM Analysis

Abstract

The redox state and speciation of the metalloid arsenic (As) determine its toxicity and mobility. Knowledge of biogeochemical processes influencing the As redox state is therefore important to understand and predict its environmental behavior. Many previous studies examined As(III) oxidation by various Mn-oxides, but little is known concerning the environmental influences (e.g. co-existing ions) on the process. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of As(III) oxidation by a poorly crystalline hexagonal birnessite (δ-MnO2) in the presence of Fe(II) using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), Mossbauer spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The K-edge X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) analysis revealed that, at low Fe(II) concentration (100 μM), As(V) was the predominant As species on the solid phase, while at higher Fe(II) concentrations (200-1000 μM), both As(III) and As(V) were sorbed on the solid phase. As K-e...