Kinetic effects on the interactions of Rh(III) with humic acids as determined using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC)

Abstract

The anthropogenic inputs of Rh in the environment-together with other platinum group elements-have increased considerably during the last 20-30 years. However, thermodynamics and kinetics on the interaction of Rh with natural organic and inorganic ligands are still poorly characterized. Here, we report the time-dependent speciation of rhodium chlorides spiked to model freshwater with and without the presence of humic substances. Rhodium species were determined using size-exclusion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SEC-ICP-MS). Results indicate that organic matter can effectively bind rhodium, but the extremely slow reaction kinetics of Rh plays a significant role on its speciation in natural waters. Accordingly, formation of Rh-organic complexes from spiked rhodium chlorides required around 15 days to reach equilibrium; this should be taken into account in those laboratory experiments where the biological interactions of Rh, using spiked samples, are studied. Regarding Rh inorganic speciation in freshwater, the available thermodynamic constants predict the dominance of the neutral trihydroxo and negatively charged tetrahydroxo rhodium complexes over typical pHs (6-8); our results, however, indicate only the presence of negatively charged hydroxocomplexes at pH 7. Reexamination of the Rh stability constants suggest that these hydroxylated rhodium complexes may also dominate its inorganic speciation in seawater.