Effect of iron oxide coatings on zinc sorption mechanisms at the clay-mineral/water interface

Oxide surface coatings are ubiquitous in the environment, but their effect on the intrinsic metal uptake mechanism by the underlying mineral surface is poorly understood. In this study, the zinc (Zn) sorption complexes formed at the kaolinite, goethite, and goethite-coated kaolinite surfaces, were systematically studied as a function of pH, aging time, surface loading, and the extent of goethite coating, using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. At pH 5.0, Zn partitioned to all sorbents by specific chemical binding to hydroxyl surface sites. At pH 7.0, the dominant sorption mechanism changed with reaction time. At the kaolinite surface, Zn was incorporated into a mixed metal Zn-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH). At the goethite surface, Zn initially formed a monodentate inner-sphere adsorption complex, with typical Zn-Fe distances of 3.18 A. However, with increasing reaction time, the major Zn sorption mechanism shifted to the formation of a zinc hydroxide surface precipitate, with characteristic Zn-Zn bond distances of 3.07 A. At the goethite-coated kaolinite surface, Zn initially bonded to FeOH groups of the goethite coating. With increasing aging time however, the inclusion of Zn into a mixed Zn-Al LDH took over as the dominant sorption mechanism. These results suggest that the formation of a precipitate phase at the kaolinite surface is thermodynamically favored over adsorption to the goethite coating. These findings show that the formation of Zn precipitates, similar in structure to brucite, at the pristine kaolinite, goethite, and goethite-coated kaolinite surfaces at near neutral pH and over extended reaction times is an important attenuation mechanism of metal contaminants in the environment.