Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:17:26.020Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The point of zero charge of natural and synthetic ferrihydrites and its relation to adsorbed silicate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

U. Schwertmann
Affiliation:
Technische Universität München, Institut für Bodenkunde, 8050 Freising-Weihenstephan, FRG
H. Fechter
Affiliation:
Technische Universität München, Institut für Bodenkunde, 8050 Freising-Weihenstephan, FRG

Extract

The point of zero charge (pzc) of synthetic Fe-oxides is well documented and usually ranges between pH 7 and 9 (Parks, 1965; Schwertmann & Taylor, 1977). In contrast, the pzc of natural Fe-oxides has only rarely been determined. Using electrophoretic mobility, Van Schuylenborgh & Arens (1950) found that a natural goethite had a much lower pzc (∼3) than synthetic goethites. They attributed this to better crystallinity of the natural goethite caused by slower crystallization. Soils dominated by Fe- (or Al-) oxides rarely have pzc values as high as those of pure oxides. This is usually attributed to the presence of negatively charged impurities such as clay silicates and organic matter (Parfitt, 1981).

Ferrihydrite, a natural, poorly-crystalline Fe-oxide mineral of bulk composition 5Fe2O3.9H2O, occurs in hydromorphic soils (Schwertmann et al., 1982) and is the main component in ochrous precipitates formed when Fe-bearing fresh waters come in contact with air (Schwertmann & Fischer, 1973; Carlson & Schwertmann, 1981). Under these conditions the ferrihydrite is reasonably free of other charge-active minerals. The aim of this study was to find out if the pzc of these natural ferrihydrites differed from those of synthetic samples.

Type
Notes
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boltz, D.F & Mellow, M.G. (1947) Determination of P, Ge, Si and As by the heteropoly blue method. Anal. Chem. 19, 873878.Google Scholar
Carlson, L. & Schwertmann, U. (1981) Natural ferrihydrites in surface deposits from Finland and their association with silica. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 45, 421429.Google Scholar
Davis, J. & Leckie, J.O. (1978) Surface ionization and complexation at the oxide/water interface. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 67, 90107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gast, R.G. (1977) Surface and Colloid Chemistry. Pp. 2773 in: Minerals in Soil Environments. (Dixon, J.B. & Weed, S.B., editors). Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.Google Scholar
Henmi, T., Wells, N., Childs, C.W. & Parfitt, R.L. (1980) Poorly-ordered iron-rich precipitates from springs and streams on andesitic volcanoes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 44, 365372.Google Scholar
Herbillon, A.J. & Tran Vinh, An J. (1969) Heterogeneity in silicon-iron mixed hydroxides. J. Soil Sci. 20, 223235.Google Scholar
Hingston, F.J., Atkinson, R.J., Posner, A.M. & Quirk, J.P. (1967) Specific adsorption of anions. Nature 215, 14591461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koutler-Anderson, E. (1953) The sulfosalicylic method for iron determination and its use in certain soil analysis. Ann. Roy. Agric. Coll. Sweden 20, 297308.Google Scholar
Mehra, O.P. & Jackson, N.L. (1960) Iron oxide removal from soils and clays by a dithionite-citrate system buffered with sodium bicarbonate. Clays Clay Miner. 7, 317327.Google Scholar
Parfitt, R.L. (1981) Chemical properties of variable charge soils. Pp. 167194 in: Soils with Variable Charge. (Theng, B.K.G., editor). N.Z. Soc. Soil Sci. Google Scholar
Parks, G.A. (1965) The isoelectric points of solid oxides, solid hydroxides and aqueous hydroxy complex systems. Chem. Rev. 65, 177198.Google Scholar
Pyman, M.A.F., Bowden, J.W. & Posner, A.M. (1979) The point of zero charge of amorphous coprecipitates of silica with hydrous aluminium or ferric hydroxide. Clay Miner. 14, 8792.Google Scholar
Schuylenborgh, J. & Arens, P.L. (1950) The electrokinetic behaviour of freshly prepared γ and α-FeOOH. Recueil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas 69, 15571565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U. (1964) Differenzierung der Eisenoxide des Bodens durch Extraktion mit Ammoniumoxaiat- Lösung. Z. Pflanzenernähr., Düng. Bodenkunde 105, 194212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U. & Fischer, W.R. (1973) Natural ‘amorphous’ ferric hydroxide. Geoderma, 10, 237247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U. & Thalmann, H. (1976) The influence of Fe(II), Si and pH on the formation of lepidocrocite and ferrihydrite during oxidation of aqueous FeCl2-solutions. Clay Miner. 11, 189200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U. & Taylor, R.M. (1977) Iron oxides. Pp. 145-180 in: Minerals in Soil Environments. (Dixon, J.B. & Weed, S.B., editors). Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.Google Scholar
Schwertmann, U., Schulze, D.G. & Murad, E. (1982) Identification of ferrihydrite in soils by dissolution kinetics, differential X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46, (in press).Google Scholar
Towe, K.W. & Bradley, W.F. (1967) Mineralogical constitution of colloidal hydrous ferric oxides. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 24, 384392.Google Scholar