Iron (III)-silica interactions in aqueous solution: insights from X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy

Abstract

The influence of aqueous silica on the hydrolysis of iron(III) nitrate and chloride salts in dilute aqueous solutions ( m Fe ∼ 0.01 mol/kg) was studied at ambient temperature using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy at the Fe K-edge. Results show that in Si-free iron nitrate and chloride solutions at acid pH (pH < 2.5), Fe is hexa-coordinated with 6 oxygens of H 2O- and/or OH-groups in the first coordination sphere of the metal, at an Fe-O distance of 2.00 ± 0.01 Å. With increasing pH (2.7 < pH < 13), these groups are rapidly replaced by bridging hydroxyls (-OH-) or oxygens (-O-), and polymerized Fe hydroxide complexes form via Fe-(O/OH)-Fe bonds. In these polymers, the first atomic shell of iron represents a distorted octahedron with six O/OH groups and Fe-O distances ranging from 1.92 to 2.07 Å. The Fe octahedra are linked together by their edges (Fe-Fe distance 2.92–3.12 Å) and corners (Fe-Fe distance ∼3.47 ± 0.03 Å). The Fe-Fe coordination numbers ( N edge = 1–2; N corner = 0.5–0.7) are consistent with the dominant presence of iron dimers, trimers and tetramers at pH 2.5 to 2.9, and of higher-polymerized species at pH > 3. At pH > 2.5 in the presence of aqueous silica, important changes in Fe(III) hydrolysis are detected. In 0.05- m Si solutions (pH ∼ 2.7–3.0), the corner linkages between Fe octahedra in the polymeric complexes disappear, and the Fe-Fe distances corresponding to the edge linkages slightly increase (Fe-Fe edge ∼ 3.12–3.14 Å). The presence of 1 to 2 silicons at 3.18 ± 0.03 Å is detected in the second atomic shell around iron. At basic pH (∼12.7), similar structural changes are observed for the iron second shell. The Fe-Si and Fe-Fe distances and coordination numbers derived in this study are consistent with (1) Fe-Si complex stoichiometries Fe 2Si 1-2 and Fe 3Si 2-3 at pH < 3; (2) structures composed of Fe-Fe dimers and trimers sharing one or two edges of FeO 6-octahedra; and (3) silicon tetrahedra linked to two neighboring Fe octahedra via corners. At higher Si concentration (0.16 m, polymerized silica solution) and pH ∼ 3, the signal of the Fe second shell vanishes indicating the destruction of the Fe-Fe bonds and the formation of different Fe-Si linkages. Moreover, ∼20 mol.% of Fe is found to be tetrahedrally coordinated with oxygens in the first coordination shell ( R Fe-O = 1.84 Å). This new finding implies that Fe may partially substitute for Si in the tetrahedral network of the silica polymers in Si-rich solutions. The results of this study demonstrate that aqueous silica can significantly inhibit iron polymerization and solid-phase formation, and thus increase the stability and mobility of Fe(III) in natural waters. The silica “poisoning” of the free corner sites of iron-hydroxide colloids should reduce the adsorption and incorporation of trace elements by these colloids in Si-rich natural waters.