Nickel and manganese interaction with calcite

Abstract

Many divalent metal cations sorb to calcite surfaces and incorporate into calcite to varying degrees. Since calcite may sorb trace elements in the environment, the factors controlling metal-calcite interactions are critical to understanding element cycling. The interaction of divalent metal cations with calcite can be critical to toxic metal immobilization, nutrient cycling, interpretation of past redox conditions, tracing fluid flow, for example. Sorption of Ni and Mn on calcite surfaces was studied by Zachara et al.. At any particular pH, the sorption of Mn on calcite was greater than Ni. This was attributed in part to the similarity of divalent Mn and Ca with respect to ion size. Although direct spectroscopic evidence was not available, sorption/desorption results suggested that Mn quickly forms a surface precipitate or solid solution while Ni forms a hydrated surface complex that may incorporate into calcite much more slowly via recrystallization. Because Mn(II) ionic radius is similar to that of Ca(II) (0.80 versus 1.0{angstrom}), and because MnCO{sub 3} has a structure similar to calcite, it is likely that Mn can substitute directly for Ca in the calcite structure. The ionic radius of Ni(II) is significantly smaller (0.69{angstrom}) and Ni(OH){sub 2} precipitation is likely to be favored in most systems. For Ni, direct substitution for Ca is less likely or may require more significant calcite lattice deformation.