Growth and Dissolution of Iron and Manganese Oxide Films
Growth and dissolution of Fe and Mn oxide films are key regulators of the fate and transport of heavy metals in the environment, especially during changing seasonal conditions of pH and dissolved oxygen. The Fe and Mn are present at much higher concentrations than the heavy metals, and, when Fe and Mn precipitate as oxide films, heavy metals surface adsorb or co-precipitate and are thus essentially immobilized. Conversely, when the Fe and Mn oxide films dissolve, the heavy metals are released to aqueous solution and are thus mobilized for transport. Therefore, understanding the dynamics and properties of Fe and Mn oxide films and thus on the uptake and release of heavy metals is critically important to any attempt to develop mechanistic, quantitative models of the fate, transport, and bioavailablity of heavy metals. A primary capability developed in our earlier work was the ability to grow manganese oxide (MnO{sub x}) films on rhodochrosite (MnCO{sub 3}) substrate in presence of dissolved oxygen under mild alkaline conditions. The morphology of the films was characterized using contact-mode atomic force microscopy. The initial growth began by heteroepitaxial nucleation. The resulting films had maximum heights of 1.5 to 2 nm as a result of thermodynamic constraints. Over the three past years, we have investigated the effects of MnO{sub x} growth on the interactions of MnCO{sub 3} with charged ions and microorganisms, as regulated by the surface electrical properties of the mineral. In 2006, we demonstrated that MnO{sub x} growth could induce interfacial repulsion and surface adhesion on the otherwise neutral MnCO{sub 3} substrate under environmental conditions. Using force-volume microscopy (FVM), we measured the interfacial and adhesive forces on a MnO{sub x}/MnCO{sub 3} surface with a negatively charged silicon nitride tip in a 10-mM NaNO3 solution at pH 7.4. The interfacial force and surface adhesion of MnOx were approximately 40 pN and 600 pN, respectively, whereas those of MnCO{sub 3} were essentially zero. The force differences between MnO{sub x} and MnCO{sub 3} suggest that oxide film growth can focus adsorbates to certain parts of the surface and thereby templating a heterogeneous layout of them. We suspected that the force differences were in part due to the differences in surface electrical properties. In 2007, we investigated two important electrical properties of MnO{sub x} and MnCO{sub 3} surfaces, namely surface potential and ion mobility. Surface potential is a composite quantity that can be linked to the local lattice structure of the reconstructed surface and the adsorption of water layers. The mobile surface ions formed by dissolution can also contribute to surface potential. Using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and scanning polarization force microscopy (SPFM), we found that MnOx possessed excess surface potentials of over +200 mV in humid nitrogen and the excess surface potential decreased with increasing relative humidity (i.e., increasing adsorbed water layers on the mineral surface). The dependence of the excess surface potential was attributed to the change of the contributions from mobile ions. These results supported our earlier hypothesis that MnO{sub x} and MnCO{sub 3} had different surface electrical properties. In the third year, we systematically characterized that the change of the electrical double layer (EDL) structure of MnCO{sub 3} surface due to MnO{sub x} growth in aqueous solution and its dependence on pH. The structure of the electrical double layer determines the electrostatic interactions between the mineral surface and charged adsorbates. As described by the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, the electrostatic force, together with van der Waals interaction, regulates surface adsorption and bacterial attachment. Once adsorbates establish contact with the surface, they must resist hydraulic shear forces through surface adhesion. The adhesion of mineral surfaces is also affected by their electrostatic interactions with adsorbates. To probe the EDL structure, we applied force-volume microscopy coupled with physical and chemical models of the SPM system.
- Research Organization:
- The President and Fellows of Harvard College
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-03ER15384
- OSTI ID:
- 951969
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/15384-Tech; Fund 123325; TRN: US201006%%801
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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