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Title: Chemisorption of catechol on gibbsite, boehmite, and noncrystalline alumina surfaces

Journal Article · · Environ. Sci. Technol.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/es00171a014· OSTI ID:6607761

The mechanism of bonding of catechol and related phenolic compounds on aluminum oxides was elucidated from sorption behavior in the presence of competing adsorbates and the nature of the infrared spectra of the surface-bound molecules. The surfaces demonstrated a high degree of selectivity toward catechol, adsorbing the molecule in the presence of a large excess of chloride. Phosphate competed effectively with catechol for sorption sites while acetate did not. Dispersive and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy verified that catechol bound on the aluminum oxide surfaces was chemically perturbed in much the same manner as catechol chelated by Al/sup 3 +/, suggesting that the dominant sorption process involved the formation of a 1:1 bidentate complex with surface Al. The mechanisms of bonding was similar for all the aluminum oxides, but the dominant crystal surfaces of the crystalline oxides were unreactive toward catechol, and adsorption was attributed to -AlOH groups situated on edge faces. As a result, the noncrystalline oxide was more reactive per unit of surface area than the crystalline minerals boehmite and gibbsite.

Research Organization:
Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (USA)
OSTI ID:
6607761
Journal Information:
Environ. Sci. Technol.; (United States), Vol. 22:6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English