Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Garrison Sposito
Garrison Sposito
University of California, Riverside
Copyright
84-3936
98 7 65 4 3
To Our Parents
Albert and Geraldine Sposito
and
Ernest and Virginia Campbell
PREFACE
viii
PREFACE
PREFACE
ix
fifteen years ago, has made a truly seminal contribution to the study of
natural water systems. Those of us fortunate enough to have known him
and his work share in the reflected light of his fine accomplishments.
I should like to thank also Dr. James J. Morgan for continual encouragement and support in ways too numerous to count. Dr. James O. Leckie has
been most helpful over the past several years as I began to learn the
vicissitudes of computer modeling of surface phenomena. I am grateful
also to Michael Essington for providing me with a set of lecture notes for
my course on soil physical chemistry that has helped me significantly during
the writing of this book. Chapters 1 and 2 were reviewed in draft by Dr.
James P. Quirk, who made many suggestions for their improvement.
Chapter 1 also was read by Dr. Roger L. Parfitt and Chapter 2 by Dr. Rene
Prost, both of whom have helped to clarify my thinking. Chapter 3 was
reviewed by Dr. Robert J. Hunter, who gave me the benefit of his great
experience with electrified interfaces. I must thank also Dr. Clifford T.
Johnston and Dr. Sabine R. Goldberg for their most careful scrutiny of
several chapters in an effort to expunge errors and simplify sentences.
Finally, I express deep gratitude to Diana Deporto and Linda Bobbitt for
their skill in drawing the figures and to Martha Stephans and Sharon
Conditt for their excellent typing of the manuscript.
Riverside, California
August 1983
G.S.
There are ancient cathedrals which, apart from their consecrated purpose,
inspire solemnity and awe, Even the curious visitor speaks of serious things,
with hushed voice, and as each whisper reverberates through the vaulted
nave, the returning echo seems to bear a message of mystery. The labor of
generations of architects and artisans has been forgotten, the scaffolding
erected for their toil has long since been removed, their mistakes have been
erased, or have become hidden by the dust of centuries. Seeing only the
perfection of the completed whole, we are impressed as by some superhuman agency. But sometimes we enter such an edifice that is still partly under
construction; then the sound of hammers, the reek of tobacco, the trivial jests
bandied from workman to workman, enable us to realize that the great
structures are but the result of giving to ordinary human effort a direction
and a purpose,
Gilbert Newton Lewis
and Merle Randall l
G. N, Lewis und M. Rundall, Thermodynamics and till' Free f.'Tll'fNY of Chemical Substances.
Mc(irllwllill Book ('0" New York. 11)2,1 Reprinted with the permission or the publisher.
I
CONTENTS
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.
2.4.
Liquid water, 47
Electrolyte Solutions, 54
Water near Phyllosilicate Surfaces, 57
The Solvent Properties of Adsorbed Water, 69
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
3.4.
3.5.
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
4.4.
4.5.
ill
xii
CONTENTS
1
THE REACTIVE SOLID SURFACES
IN SOILS
The solid phases that exhibit surface reactivity in soils are to be found
primarily in the clay fraction. This well-known fact is a consequence of the
geometric relationship between particle volume and surface area: in a
closely packed mass of solid particles, the total surface area increases as the
degree of subdivision of the mass increases. For example, in a cubic meter
of medium sand particles, each assumed spherical with a diameter of
500 JLm, the total surface area is about 1.2 x 104 rrr'. In the same volume
of clay particles, however, each with a diameter of 2 JLm, the total surface
area is about 3 x 106 m 2 , or 250 times that of the sand particles. 1 It is
evident from this comparison that a study of the solid phases in soils in
relation to surface chemistry need focus only on those solids that are
common in clay fractions.
From the point of view of structural chemistry, most of the solid phases
contained in soil clays are polymers, i.e., compounds or mixtures of
compounds formed from the bonding together of repeating molecular
units. If the repeating structure in a solid phase persists throughout a
molecular region whose diameter is at least 3 nm, the solid phase is said to
be crystalline. If structural regularity does not exist over molecular
distances this large, the solid phase is termed amorphous. This distinction
concerning structural regularity is intended principally as a general guide.
Even among the crystalline solids in soil clays there is wide variation in
molecular order, with disorder introduced often by isomorphic substitutions of cations and anions and by the irregular stacking of crystalline
layers.
The most important molecular structural units in the inorganic polymers
found in soil days are the silica tetrahedron, sio1 ,and the octahedral
comprising a mctal calion, M'" I , and six anions, X" .
complex MXg'
r:
TETRAHEDRAL SHEET
DIOCTAHEDRAL SHEET
'J_--X b J+-----M m+
Figure 1.1. Sheet polymeric structure of Si04- and Mx~m~6b). The open circles at
the polyhedral vertices in each perspective view are shown directly below in a
projection along the crystallographic a axis.
Table 1.1. Ionic radii of elements commonly found in clay fractions of soils
Element
Radius,
nm a
Radius,
ratio"
Li(I)
D( -II)
F(-I)
Na(I)
Mg(lI)
Al(III)
Si(IV)
K(I)
Ca(II)
0.074
0.140
0.133
0.102
0.072
0.053
0.026
0.138
D.IOO
0.53
0.73
0.51
0.38
0.19
0.99
0.71
Element
Radius,
nm a
Radius
ratio"
Co (III)
Mn(III)
Mn(IV)
Fe (II)
Fe (III)
Cu(lI)
Zn(II)
Cd(lI)
Pb(lI)
0.061
0.065
0.054
0.078
0.073
0.073
0.075
0.095
0.118
0.44
0.46
0.39
0.56
0.52
0.52
0.54
0.68
0.84
"Ionic radii for octahedral coordination [excepting Si(IV). which is for tetrahedral coordination] compiled
from R. D. Shunnon und C. D. Prewitt, Effective ionic radii in oxides and fluorides. Acta Cryst. 825: lJ25
( IlJIllJ).
" r( cutinn l/ rl ( )(
Ill!
Name
Anatase
Birnessite
Boehmite"
Ferrihydrite
Gibbsite"
Goethite"
Chemical formula
rio,
Nao.7CaO.3Mn70142.8HzO
y-AlOOH
FeZ03' 2FeOOH 2.6H zO
y-Al(OHh
a-FeOOH
Name
Chemical formula
Hematite"
Ilmenite
Lepidocrocite"
Lithiophorite
Maghernite":"
Magnetite"
a- FeZ03
FeTi03
y-FeOOH
(Al,Li)MnOz(OH)z
y-FeZ0 3
FeFez04
The y denotes cubic dme,pllckinll 01' unions, lind the " denotes
h Sllllle Ill' the !-'c(III) Ion. nrc in It'lrllhe<lrul clH'f<llnlllilln,
he~111l1l11l11
dIlNe-pllcking.
0/
Fe 3+
Ii ~cJ-'"
'Xi-p;" d
!~ 9
,1,,"'i
GIBBSITE, y-AI(OHh
Figure 1.2. The molecular structures of goethite and gibbsite projected along the crystallographic c axis
(upper) and a axis (lower). Hydrogen bonds in goethite are indicated by dashed lines, and an Fe03(OH)3
octahedron is outlined in the a axis projection. (After Brown et at. 7 )
(,
and octahedral sheets occurs through the apical oxygen ions in the former
and always produces a significant distortion of the anion arrangement in
the final layer structure. The principal distortion is caused by the fact that
the apical oxygen ions in the tetrahedral sheet cannot fit into the vertices
of the octahedra to form a layer and still preserve the ideal hexagonal
pattern of the tetrahedra. In order to fuse the two sheets, pairs of adjacent
tetrahedra must rotate alternately clockwise and counterclockwise by
about 20 around an axis perpendicular to their basal plane. This rotation
lowers the symmetry of the cavities in the basal plane of the tetrahedral
sheet (Fig. 1.1) from hexagonal to trigonal. Besides this distortion, the
sharing of edges in the octahedral sheet and the isomorphic substitution of
the cations in both sheets tend to make the structure thinner and its basal
surfaces less planar (slightly corrugated) than in an unconstrained
polymer. 7
The phyllosilicates in soil clays can be classified into three layer types,
distinguished by the numbers of tetrahedral and octahedral sheets combined, and five groups, differentiated by the kinds of isomorphic cation
substitutions that occur. The layer types are shown in Fig. 1.3, and the
groups are described in Table 1.3. The 1: 1 layer type consists of one
tetrahedral and one octahedral sheet. In soil clays, it is represented by the
kaolinite group, with the unit cell chemical formula [Si4](AI4)OlO(OH)8,
where the cation enclosed in brackets is in tetrahedral coordination and
that enclosed in parentheses is in octahedral coordination. Normally there
is no significant isomorphic substitution for Si(IV) or Al (III) in this group,
and, as is common with soil clay minerals, the octahedral sheet has two
thirds of its cation sites occupied (dioctahedral phyllosilicate).
The 2: 1 layer type has two tetrahedral sheets sandwiching an octahedral
sheet. The three clay groups with this structure are (illitic) mica, vermiculite, and smectite (montmorillonite), each with the general unit cell
chemical formula.f
Group
Kaolinite
Mica (illitic)
Vermiculite
Smectite"
Chlorite
Layer
type
1:1
2:1
2:1
2: 1
2: ) with
hydroxide
intcrlayer
Layer
charge
<0.01
1.4-2.0
1.2-1.8
0.5-1.2
Variable
Chemical formula
coefficients
6.8
3
3
3.2
8.4
7
8
2.4
c'
c + c' = 0.25
0.5
c + c'
o.s
= 0.2
).5
_--M m +
0 2-
-<:):~~~X~~~X~--Si4+
I: I LAYER
2:1 LAYER
C,
(1.1)
is the layer charge, the number of moles of net electron charge per unit cell
that is produced by isomorphic substitutions. As indicated in Table 1.3, the
three 2: 1 layer groups differ from one another in two principal ways: the
layer charge decreases in the order mica > vermiculite > smectite and
the vermiculite group is further distinguished from the smectite group
by the extent of isomorphic substitution in the tetrahedral sheet. However,
in the montmorillonite subgroup of the smectites (the one of principal
significance in soil clays), there is a spectrum of isomorphic substitution
patterns ranging from the Chambers type, with (8-a) values up to 0.6, to
the Otay type, with (8-a) values up to 0.18. 7
The 2:1 layer type with hydroxide interlayer is represented by dioctahedral chlorite in soil clays (Figs. 1.3). The unit cell chemical formula of
this mineral can be expressed"
[SiaAIs-a](AlbFe (III)cMgc') 020(0 H) 16
The octahedrally coordinated cations in chlorite reside in two sheets: one
comprising M(OHh04'-lO octahedra (with M'?" = AI3+ , Fe 3 + ,or Mg2+)
sandwiched in a 2: 1 layer and one comprising principally AI(OH)~
octahedra situated on a basal surface of the 2; 1 layer. In order to preserve
the electroneutrality of the whole structure, the octahedral occupancy
often is greater than the expected eight per unit cell for the two dioctahedral sheets; the resulting excess positive charge balances the excess
negative charge created by isomorphic substitution in the tetrahedral
sheets.
Structural disorder in all the soil minerals listed in Tables 1.2 and 1.3 can
be induced through isomorphic substitutions for the principal cations.
The range of these substitutions in the Periodic Table is very broad, as
indicated in Table 1.4. 9 For example, seven metals are known to substitute
Table 1.4. Metals found in soil clay minerals through isomorphic substitution and inclusion
Minerals
Fe oxides
Mn oxides
Ca carbonates
Illites
Vermiculties
Smectites
Substituted metals
AI, V, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo
for iron in goethite and hematite, with soil goethites containing aluminum
up to concentrations of 32 mole per cent."
A more pronounced structural disorder often exists in freshly precipitated silica or metal hydroxides in soils, since these compounds typically
are amorphous. Structurally disordered aluminosilicates, known collectively as allophane and imogolite, are common in the clay fractions of
soils formed on volcanic ash parent material. 10
The molecular structure of allophane is not well understood, but it is
thought to consist of a 1: 1 phyllosilicate layer riddled with defects (vacant
ion sites) and containing Al in both the tetrahedral and octahedral sheets.
The many defects promote curling of the layer into the form of a hollow
spherule about 5 nm in diameter whose outer boundary contains many
apertures through which small molecules or ions can enter. As this
structural concept implies, allophane often is found in association with
soil clay minerals of the kaolinite group, especially the hydrated polymorph halloysite. Imogolite, which has the general empirical formula
1.1 SiO z"Alz03"2.3-2.8HzO, exhibits a tubular morphology. The tube
unit contains Al only in octahedral coordination and exposes a defective,
gibbsite-like surface.
When one turns to the organic solids in soils, the uncertainties regarding
structural chemistry are even more complex than those encountered with
the amorphous aluminosilicates. It is, in fact, not possible to describe a
developed molecular structure for these compounds at present, although
something can be said about the precursors of such a structure. Collectively, the dark microbially transformed organic solid materials that
persist in soils are termed humic substances, and it is known that their
synthesis involves phenolic compounds resulting from the decomposition of proteins and carbohydrates (Fig. 1.4).11 The phenolic compounds,
whether derived from lignin decomposition or through microbial synthesis,
may polymerize to contribute to biologically stable structures of large
relative molecular mass. Lignin, carbohydrates, and proteins themselves
are organic polymers whose microbial decomposition produces smaller
molecular units that can be bound into humic substances. Lignin is a
polymeric material comprising phenylpropenyl alcohols with one hydroxyl
group (Fig. 1.5). In coniferous lignin, coniferyl alcohol units (shown at
the lower left in Fig. 1.4) bond together in a variety of ways to form a
three-dimensional framework. The carbohydrates are in part polymeric
compounds formed by repeated condensation reactions between hexose
and pentose sugars. In cellulose (Fig. 1.5) for example, the hexose sugar
glucose forms a glucoside (substitution of the hydrogen atom in the
hydroxyl group adjacent to the oxygen atom in the ring) with another
glucose molecule to initiate a polymer structure.
The proteins also are condensation polymers. In this case, the fundamental molecular units are amino acids, which combine according to the
reaction
DEGRADATION OF LIGNIN
(CONIFEROUS LIGNIN)
C-
PHENOLS BY
MICROBIAL SYNTHESIS
ALIPHATIC
CARBON
SOURCE
PROTEINS----......
lY
y
DEGRADAT ION OF
PROTEINS
OCH
f
Rh
PEPTIDES----......
AMINO ACIDS ...............
AMMONIA
I
-CH
I
CH20H
COOH
OH
~Y
OH
RyY0H
R~
oA-(
OH
HO--y
OH . .
RyOH
~~
OH
OH
OH
XOCH 3
CH
II
CH
I
COOH
OTHER PHENOLS
OF PLANTS
OH
DEGRADAT ION OF
CARBOHYDRATES
11
H
H
I II
I II
H-N-C-C
+H-N-C-C
I I 'OH
I I 'OH
R1
1
H I H RI
C
I
"N
(1.2)
II
CONIFEROUS LIGNIN
CELLULOSE
12
Figure 1.6. Structure of the a-helix peptide chain. The shaded planes illustrate the
orientation of the amide groups, CONH, and interrupted heavy lines denote
hydrogen bonds. (After Walton 12 )
The surface reactivity of the solid phases in soils derives from the chemical
behavior of surface functional /?,oUP,\' in soil clays. A surface functional
group is a chemically reactive molecular unit hound into the structure of a
13
solid at its periphery such that the reactive components of the unit can be
bathed by a fluid. Surface functional groups may be bound to either
organic or inorganic solids and may exhibit any structural arrangement
conceivable for the functional groups in individual small molecules, but
they differ from ordinary functional groups in two related ways. First,
because they are bound into a solid framework, surface groups cannot be
brought to a state of infinite dilution relative to one another in an aqueous
suspension, as can the groups on small dissolved molecules. Unless the
integrity of the polymer to which they are attached is destroyed, surface
functional groups remain separated by fixed distances regardless of how
dilute the polymer suspension itself may become. Second, the reactivity of
surface functional groups is, in essence, a cooperative property. The fact
that neighbouring groups either have or have not reacted when a solid
surface interacts with the constituents in a fluid phase affects the behavior
of any single group. For example, if an electrically neutral, proton-containing functional group is surrounded by like neighbors that have lost their
protons and become ionized, it is less likely to release its proton than if the
neighboring groups had retained their protons. The reason for this effect is
the negative coulomb field produced by the nearby ionized functional
groups, which exerts a force on the remaining protons to keep them near
the surface.
....
When a surface functional group reacts with a molecule dissolved in a
surrounding fluid to form a stable unit, a surface complex is said to exist
and the formation reaction is termed surface complexation. Two broad
categories of surface complexes can be distinguished on structural groands:
if no molecule of the bathing solvent is interposed between the surface
functional group and the molecular unit it binds, the complex formed is
called an inne~:~P!lq!!_c:.g,!!!ulex; if at least one solvent molecule is inter\ posed between the functional group and the bound molecule, the complex
formed is called an q!:!!ef.:J2h:f!,r.(C;Q1Jlplc~. As a general rule,. outer-sphere
surface complexes jnyolve elect~()staticb2,nal~g!!i~~hal1i~m~'~n!:lJhe.r.e.!ore
, a.re ..less . stable .!~':lp._i~~~-sI?h.~rt:_~.!!rt~tL9.lIlJ2Ie.~es, w~!~1:1 . . J.lec~ssai-il y
;. involve either ionic or covalent QQnciing 9Ls()It1ecQITl9i~.~!i~I! l:)ftheiwo.
It is evident from these definitional remarks that the surface chemistry of
a soil is determined in large measure by the nature of its surface functional
groups. For this reason it is useful to consider the principal kinds of surface
functional groups commonly found in soil clays.
The plane of oxygen atoms bounding a
tetrahedral silica sheet in a layer silicate is called a siloxane surface. This
plane is characterized by a distorted hexagonal (i.e., trigonal) symmetry
among its constituent oxygen atoms that is produced when the underlying
tetrahedra rotate to fit their apexes to contact points on the octahedral
sheet. Further accommodation of the tetrahedra to the octahedral sheet is
achieved through the tilting of their bases so that the silicon-oxygen bonds
arc directed toward the contact points instead of lying normal to the basal
THE SILOXANE DITRIGONAL CAVITY.
14
15
the four silica tetrahedra that are associated through their apexes with a
single octahedron in the layer. This distribution of negative charge
enhances the Lewis base character of the ditrigonal cavity and makes it
possible to form complexes with cations as well as with dipolar molecules.
An outer-sphere surface complex of this type with a Ca2+ cation is
illustrated in Fig. 1.8. In this example, which is the familiar two-layer
hydrate of Ca-montmorillonite, two opposing ditrigonal cavities in separate siloxane surfaces complex a Ca2+ cation solvated by six water
molecules in octahedral coordination.
On the other hand, if isomorphic substitution of Si4+ by AIH occurs in
the tetrahedral sheet, the excess negative charge can distribute itself
primarily over just the three surface oxygen atoms of one tetrahedron, and
much stronger complexes with cations and dipolar molecules become
possible because of this localization of charge. In particular, inner-sphere
surface complexes, such as the one illustrated with a K+ cation in Fig. 1.8,
now are more likely. This complex requires the coordination of the
potassium ion with 12 oxygen atoms bordering two opposing ditrigonal
cavities. The layer charge in illitic micas and in vermiculites is large enough
(Table 1.3) to allow each ditrigonal cavity in the basal planes of these
minerals to complex a K+ cation. Moreover, the ionic diameter of K+
(Table 1.1) is almost precisely equal to that of a cavity. This combination
of charge distribution and stereochemical factors gives the K-mica and
K-vermiculite surface complexes their well-known stability in soils. 15
The range of Lewis base character possible for the siloxane ditrigonal
cavity can be demonstrated most directly through infrared spectroscopic
studies of complexes involving hydrogen bonds. The stretching frequencies
of hydrogen-bonded NH, OH, and OD groups decrease uniformly as the
strength of the bond increases. Take, for example, the NH group in NHt,
or in an alkylammonium ion (e.g., C2H5NHt) or the OH group in H 20
Figure 1.8. Surface complexes between metal cations and siloxane ditrigonal
cavities on 2: 1 phyllosilicates, shown in exploded view.
16
Figure 1.9. Surface hydroxyl groups on goethite: singly (A-type), triply (B-type),
and doubly (C-type) coordinated to Fe (III) , along with Lewis acid site hydroxyls.
The drawing on the right shows an inner-sphere surface complex with HPO~- at the
A-type hydroxyl group. The dashed lines indicate hydrogen bonds.
SURFACE HYDROXYLS
LEWIS
ACID SITE
17
The type A hydroxyl group is a former oxygen ion coordinated to one Fe3+
cation in the bulk structure that has become protonated upon exposure as a
surface group. The type C hydroxyl group is formed in the same way,
except that it is coordinated to two Fe 3 + cations. The type B hydroxyl
group is a hydroxyl group coordinated to three Fe 3 + cations that has
become exposed on a surface. The infrared absorption spectrum of these
three surface OH groups is different from the spectrum of the bulk
structural OH groups.'?
By contrast, there are only type C hydroxyl groups on the plane
perpendicular to the crystallographic b axis, and these are always coordinated to an Fe3+ cation with an accompanying water molecule. This
arrangement, in which Fe(III) H 20 acts as a Lewis acid site, is shown in
Fig. 1.9. (A Lewis acid is any molecular unit that uses an empty electron
orbital in initiating a reaction. 13 In the present example, the Lewis acid is
the Fe 3 + cation.) The type A hydroxyl group can be protonated to form a
Lewis acid site and then be exchanged to allow the formation of an
inner-sphere complex with the oxyanion HP0~- (Fig. 1.9), which consists
of HPO~- bound through oxygen ions to two adjacent Fe3+ cations. Both
the OH in the o-phosphate unit and the oxygen ions coordinated to the
Fe3+ cations are hydrogen-bonded to the goethite surface. The size and
configuration of the o-phosphate unit are especially compatible with the
grooved structure of the goethite surface, thus providing a stereochemical
enhancement to the stability of the inner-sphere complex. Inner-sphere
complexes also can form through the exchange of protonated OH groups
and other oxyanions.l"
Surface hydroxyl groups coordinated to pairs of AI3+ cations appear on
the plane perpendicular to the crystallographic c axis in gibbsite (Fig. 1.2).
This basal plane makes up most of the surface of the mineral, but it appears
that the hydroxyl groups bound to Lewis acid sites on the edge plane
perpendicular to the basal plane are more reactive.l? These Lewis acid
sites comprise an AI3+ cation coordinated to a single water molecule.
The presence of hydroxyl groups coordinated to either one or two metal
cations is a common feature of the surfaces of oxide, oxyhydroxide,
hydroxide, and silicate minerals in soils. The phyllosilicates in particular
expose singly coordinated OH groups on the edge surfaces created when
crystallites are broken apart. These edge-surface hydroxyls are illustrated
in Fig. 1.10 for kaolinite. At the edge of the octahedral sheet AI(III)'H20,
which is a Lewis acid site, is found. The hydroxyl group associated with the
site can form an inner-sphere surface complex with a proton at low pH
values or with an hydroxide anion at high pH values. The water molecule
hound to the AI3+ cation also can be expected to be replaced by an
hydroxide anion at higher pH values. At the edge of the tetrahedral sheet,
hydroxyl groups are singly coordinated to Si4 + cations. Because of the
greater valence of silicon, these OH groups tend to complex only hydroxide anions. as opposed to the OH groups coordinated to Al(III), which
18
these'
H 20
LEWIS
ACID SITE
ALUMINOL
SILANOLS
IONIZED SILANOLS
ON K/IOI INI T I
19
Structural
formula
Relative stability of
proton complexes
o
-Carboxyl
,,,..-Carbonyl
Amino
Imidazole
---Phenylhydroxyl
Sulfhydryl
II
-C-oH
Weak to moderate
-C-
Very weak
Strong
Strong
Very strong
Very strong
o
II
-NHz
Ring NH
Ring OH
-SH
o
Sulfonic
II
-S-OH
Very weak
II
o
20
siloxane surfaces that permit stacking of the 2: 1 layers along the crystallographic c axis while not promoting strong bonding between the individual
layers in a stack. On the basis of these relationships alone, a close
association of the three phyllosilicate groups in soils can be expected, and
this association is in fact reported often in pedogenesis studies.F These
studies indicate that the inner-sphere surface complex between the siloxane ditrigonal cavity and the potassium ion (Fig. 1.8) plays a critical role in
the weathering processes that relate the 2: 1 phyllosilicates.P Soil conditions that favor the formation of this complex (e.g., low concentrations of
competing monovalent cations in the soil solution, low water content,
moderate temperatures) also tend to stabilize illitic mica against transformation to vermiculite or smectite. Vermiculite in soil clay differs from
illitic mica principally in the properties of its surface complexes (there is
usually very little difference in layer charge). These complexes ordinarily
are mixtures of inner-sphere complexes involving K+ and outer-sphere
complexes involving Na +, Ca2+, or Mg 2 + . When the fraction of innersphere surface complexes is near 0.5, the likelihood of finding some
combination of illitic mica and vermiculite layers in contact becomes very
great. The stability of the inner-sphere surface complex with K+ depends
significantly on the orientation of its neighboring OH group in the
octahedral sheet (Fig. 1.8). If an outer-sphere complex forms on one
siloxane surface of a phyllosilicate layer, the structural OH group nearest
the complex tends to point more toward it than if an inner-sphere complex
were there because a complexed solvated cation is farther away from the
bottom of the ditrigonal cavity. This effect allows the structural OH group
nearest the ditrigonal cavity in the siloxane surface on the opposite side of
the phyllosilicate layer to point more away from that cavity since there is
now less proton-proton repulsion. Because of this orientation of the OH
group, inner-sphere complexes on the opposite siloxane surface are
especially stable and therefore quite likely to form. The net result of this
sequence of interactions is stacks of illitic mica and vermiculite layers with
the two minerals in regular alternation.P
A similar phenomenon can occur with smectite to produce this kind of
regular interstratification of illitic mica layers with, for example, montmorillonite layers in soil clays. However, the fact that the layer charge on
smectite originates primarily in the octahedral sheet and is significantly
smaller than that on illitic mica tends to decrease the stability of smectite
inner-sphere complexes and to reduce the chance that a strictly regular
stacking of the phyllosilicate layers will occur. Since a decrease in layer
charge and isomorphic substitutions in the octahedral sheet also can take
place in vermiculite, phyllosilicate mixtures in soil clays commonly exhibit
only partial regularity or even random ordering in the stacked layers,
especially if the concentration of K + in the soil solution is low.?" If, in
addition to structural irregularities caused by isomorphic substitutions in
these phyllosilicate layers, there is also a relatively high concentration of
protons in the soil solution. the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes with K I is inhihited completely and a transformation of the layer
21
22
UNWEATHERED KAOLINITE
LAYERS
mica layer
SMECTITE-POLYMER COMPLEXES
KAOLINITE-POLYMER
COMPLEXES
23
values are not low, if the soil solution is rich in metal cations but not in
organic compounds, and if leaching has not been intensive, the surface
chemistry of the clay fraction may be related directly to that of the
uncoated solid matrix, especially if the reactions of major elements, e.g.,
Ca(II) or Cl( - 1), are under investigation.
1.4. SPECIFIC SURFACE AREA
The specific surface area. of a soil clay sample is the combined surface area
9tal~t~epllrticles in the sample as determinedby sOIIle experi.fil~~tal
techniqu: and expresse~pe~llni.!!!1ass of t~~ ~"ll.~ple. Thus the SI units of
surrace~area" are 'square .meters per kilogram. As its definition
implies, s.pecific surface area is afl operationalconcept. Tlle.Dumeric'!.Lya1.l1~
f.?J!!ld for a"~~Y~!1 s9n~~1"~i'."g5m~Jm~..QJJ.JYbiQu~~en.talm~lhg2j !!1~~q.
There are two principal reasons for this very important characteristic.
First, the properties of the solid surfaces in a soil clay often can be altered
during the preparation of the clay for a surface area measurement. For
example, it rn~.YJ)~~.ece~l!IY~!S;L,9J:Y,Jh~~c'1ay thoroughly and maintain it
under vacuum, or treatlll:ents~ith,~h,eJI.l.tca,lr~llg~n,..t~may be required for
purposes of sample ~standardizatlon..Both of tl)._~:techniql1.~s~~!l:.<ll.!~Ltbe.
shape and,si?;(;f, gf scil, particlesalld,y'()i<:l,p;:l~~es. Second, if a surface
reaction is involved in the measurement of specific surface area, the data
obtained reflect only the ceh,5l~llct~ri!ics.()f the ~llrfllce. fu!wtiQllalgrQ.MPS
in~af!lciR~~3.~~!~~r~~!i.<?~. Both stereoch~mical and charge ?istribunon effects can lImIt the kinds of surface functional groups accessible to a
particular molecule used as a surface probe, and therefore ~.S.h.lKOli9,al
measurem~.I1t.ofspecifif,sllrf~,lCe areain general provid.es.()Illy inf()~~~at~()n
ibouTi:he' solid....,.._..,.,.-._",
surfaces that were
reactive under the conditions of the
, ,."'.'.
specific .
meas"llrement.~
<, "
"
".""
..- _
,'
_ . ,
0.E~!ational n!iture of specific surfac~are.a precludes any interpretation of its numerical values in an absolute geometric sense. There is
no specific surface area of a soil clay, but only specific surface areas, each
determined with some surface chemical application in mind. If the extent
of sample alteration produced by required pretreatment is large, then the
soundest use of the numerical results from a given method is simply a
comparison of values for different soil clays prepared under standardized
circumstances. If a chemical reaction is the basis for the measurement,
then the results are meaningful only if applied to molecules similar to the
probe molecule reacting with surfaces similar to those in the measured
sample. It is this operational context that underlies the discussion of
experimental methods to follow.
. The
The principal physical methods for measuring specific surface areas of soil clays arc electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. In both techniques. the objective is to determine the shapes and
dimensions of representative soil particles and then to calculate the
PHYSICAL METHODS.
--
24
So =
= 90.9 mZg- 1
1.881 x 10 6 nrrr'
-------::;---;;:--------::;-------;;:(3.723 x 107 nm 3)(2.615 x 103 kg . m 3)
-1.93 x 1O-5m3nm- Ikg- 1 = 1.93 x 104m Zkg- I
= 19.3mZg- 1
25
that this result depends both on the pattern of isomorphic substitution and
on the type of exchangeable cation. The unit cell dimensions for the
mineral are" a = 0.517 nm, b = 0.895 nm, and c = 0.95 nm. The surface
area per unit cell is then 2ab = 0.9254 nnr' per cell if the edge surfaces are
neglected. This neglect of the edge surfaces is justified by the fact that
montmorillonite particles typically are plates whose lateral dimensions
(about 100 nm) greatly exceed their thickness (1 to 6 nm), so that the edge
surface area contributes only a few per cent to the total. The crystallographic specific surface area of an Avogadro number of unit cells of montmorillonite now can be calculated:
NA
per cell x ---=-=
So = surface area
----'0-relative mole mass of cell
7.51
1020 nm 2g- 1
26
2. The mass of adsorbate per unit mass of clay corresponding to one layer
of adsorbate on the clay surfaces must be determined. The term
adsorbate refers to the accumulating molecular unit mentioned in
condition 1.
3. The 1'~,~~!I?:g,,~J:~a2Lt~e.~~~.?rp~!~,~!JE.?~?I.':lyer coveE~~~ ,mus.t_be
Qs:t~.nuil,l,ed. The packin? a~eais the aInount?fsurf~ce~rea alloted to
each adsorbed mOiecurari.init:~--,,"...... ,,~, . , . " " - ,_... "".
s,
When conditions 1 to 3 have been met, the adsorption specific surface area,
in the SI units of square meters per kilogram, can be calculated with the
equation
sm
= XMm N Am
a x 10- 15
(1.4)
27
Table 1.6. Packing areas of gas-phase adsorbates used in specific surface area
measurements
Gas-phase
adsorbate
T,K
Nitrogen
Argon
Krypton
Ethylene glycol
(1,2-ethanediol)
Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether
(2-ethoxy-ethanol)
Water
aid
m-
nrrr' am, nm 2
Range of
observed
am, nm 2
78
77
78
0.162
0.138
0.152
0.162
0.167
0.202
0.13-0.20
0.13-0.18
0.17-0.22
293
0.224
0.332
0.230-0.332
293
293
0.323
0.105
0.523
0.106
0.396-0.600
0.075-0.195
Figure 1.12. The calculation of the monolayer parameter, X m , for Ncetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) adsorption (Langmuir plot) and water vapor
adsorption (BET plot) by soils. 33 35
BET PLOT
H20 Adsorption
Otago podzol
xm=1/(23.4+ 1.74) =
0.0398kg H20/kg soil
oL-.
os
1.0
q(mol kcr I)
I.~
0.10
0.30
0.40
28
P/ Po
q(1 - p/Po)
1
(C - 1) P
xmC + xmC Po
(1.7)
29
ADSORPTION
METHODS.
30
water),
104 m 2kg- 1
Kaolinite (Naform, Peerless)"
Kaolinite (Bath,
South Carolina?
Illitic mica (Naform, Illinois)"
Illitic mica (Naform, Fithian, Illinois)"
Vermiculite (Mg-form,
llano, Texas)"
Vermiculite (Kenya)"
Montmorillonite (Naform, Wyoming)"
Montmorillonite (Naform, Wyoming)'
a
CPB),
104 m 2kg- 1
1.88
1.8
1.5
10.2
9.3
9.6
0.31
<0.1
71.2
3.3
84.7
1.4
72.6
80.0
D.
C H.
d H.
e R.
b
1.86
Sm (nitrogen
D. J. Greenland and C.J.B. Mott, in The Chemistry of Soil Constituents (D. J. Greenland and M.H.B.
Hayes, eds.), p.321. Wiley, Chichester, U.K., 1978.
31
IZ i ICi V ex
IZilcoY
= !ZilciV - '---'-'----'-------'-----'ms
(1.9)
where Vex is called the exclusion volume. The numerator on the right side
of Eq. 1.9 is equal to the number of moles of charge of ion i sent into the
chamber not containing the suspended solid. The exclusion volume thus
represents the volume per unit mass of suspended solid depleted of ion i in
the chamber containing the suspension.
The development of a negative adsorption method for measuring specific
surface area is based on the additional definitiorr"
(1.10)
where dex(Ci) is the exclusion distance, a function of the concentration, c..
The parameter SE is the combined solid surface area per unit mass from
which ion i is repelled in an aqueous suspension. If this surface is also the
entirety of that bathed by the aqueous solution, then SE as measured by
the combination of Eqs. 1.9 and 1.10 is the full specific surface area of the
suspended solid. The parameter d ex represents the mean distance over
which the ion i is depleted near the surfaces of the suspended solid. It is
evaluated conventionally as a function of c, with the help of the diffuse
double layer (DDL) theory of an ion swarm near a charged planar surface
in aqueous suspension. 37
The model calculation of dex(c;) is presented here for the important
special case of a negatively charged solid suspended in a 1: 1 electrolyte
solution. According to the DDL theory,37 the surface charge density
neutralized by a swarm of electrolyte ions is
(1.12)
O'a
= -EoD(dl/J/dx)x=a
(1.13)
dl/J
-, =
(X
(2RTC/F.f1[)
1/ 2
cxp(-Fl/J/2RT)
(X = 8)
(1.14)
32
where i3 is the distance between two planes: that where l/J = where u" is evaluated. The solution of Eq. 1.14 is
exp(Fl/J,,/2RT)
00
and that
(1.15)
dex(c) =
L'' [1 -
(1.16)
exp(Fl/J(x)/RT)]dx
The right side of Eq. 1.16 is the relative probability that a univalent anion
will not be found at a point x near a negatively charged planar surface,
integrated over all x values from i3 outward. Thus the mean exclusion
distance is equal to the probability that an ion is excluded from the region
between x and x + dx, summed over all such regions. The integral in
Eq. 1.16 can be calculated with the help of a transformation based on
Eqs. 1.11 and 1.13:
dex(c)
= (0 1 - exp(Fl/J/RT)
)"'3
dl/J/ dx
{O
(1 - eY)dy
~ )Y3 [c(e- Y + eY - 2)]1/2
1
dl/J
= -1-
jj3C
iO ey/
dy
Y.
= r;;: [1 - exp(y,,/2)]
v f3c
2
= - - i3
(1.17)
jj3C
where
1016 m . mol- 1
(T
298.15 K)
and y == Fl/J/RT. The last step in the calculation is made with the help of
Eq. 1.15.
The introduction of Eq. 1.17 into Eq. 1.10 produces the DDL model
equation for the exclusion volume in a 1: 1 electrolyte:
(1.18)
Equation 1.18 predicts that a graph of measured values of Vex versus the
function C- 1/2 will be a straight line with a slope proportional to the
exclusion specific surface area, SE' This behavior is illustrated in Fig. 1.13
for montmorillonite suspended in NaCI.:w A least-squares line through the
data points in the graph has a slope equal to 0.3046 mol l / 2 dml/2kg - I.
33
No-MONTMORILLONITE IN NoCI
10kg CLAY/ m3 SUSPENSION
)(
>0)
Vex = 0.5524
+ 0.3046c- 1/ 2
r 2 = 0.968
0'---------4-------'-------'--------'
30
10
40
Therefore,
SE
=~
x (slope/2)
(1.084)1/2
10- 3 / 2 m 3 / 2
1/2
1/2
8
=
x 10 m
molx ----;;-;",.-2
dm 3 / 2
x 0.3046 mo1 1/2 dm 3 / 2kg- 1
= 5.01 x
lOS rrr'kg ?
= 501 m 2g- 1
The surface area of the montmorillonite sample that repels chloride ions
amounts to about 500 m 2g- 1 under the conditions of the experiments.
Table 1.8 lists specific surface area values for illitic micas as determined
by nitrogen gas adsorption and by negative chloride adsorption.t" The
specific surface areas calculated from N2 gas adsorption with the help of
Eq. 1.7 show no particular trend with type of exchangeable cation. The
mean value of SN, 11.2 0.5 x 104 m2kg-1, suggests that the mineral
forms particles containing seven phyllosilicate layers, as indicated previously. The external surfaces of these particles are expected to repel
anions, and therefore the specific surface area determined by negative
chloride adsorption should also be around 105 rrr'kg" '. As shown
in Table 1.8. however, the values of Sf:. obtained with Eq. 1.18, are
always less than SN and decrease sharply with increasing radius of the
34
Table 1.8. Specific surface areas of illitic micas and montmorillonites determined
by Nz gas adsorption (SN) and chloride exclusion (SE)40
Exchangeable
cation
Li+
Na+
K+
NHt
Rb+
Cs+
SN
SE
SN
SE
11.6
10.9
11.3
11.8
10.5
11.2
8.0
7.0
3.5
2.2
1.0
0.0
6.6
4.6
6.4
5.9
65.0
56.0
43.6
25.6
14.6
15.6
f f(
1-
1-
~) lSodex(C) + ~ Sod
( 1.19)
35
It is well established that some of the surface functional groups in soil clays
bear electric charge, the sign and magnitude of which depend on the
composition of the soil solution and the structure of the solid phase to
which the functional groups are bound. The siloxane ditrigonal cavity, for
example, often bears a more or less localized negative charge produced by
isomorphic cation substitutions, and the s~~~_~x~2~~Lg~9,Y1?.'!JlJJ.~i!~
either positive or negative charge depending on thl1.pJ:!":~!~~,9iJh~~2!1
solution. Because the ~e.ac~ive solid surfaces in soils are h.e~er()Ae.!l_C:l:).~~.,.!!!e
c:Oiicepf of surface charge density for .th.~.~ is.plu.~.~!i_~~i.c, not,~?n.o..typ~<::;
The several kinds of surface charge density in a soil clay are discussed in
Chap. 3. In the present section. attention is devoted to introducing surface
charge density as an ~"era,~()nal c(!nc:C'I" through a description of some of
36
SURFACE
CHARGE
DENSITY.
- F(q+ - q_)
(1.21)
where q+ and q_ refer to the moles of adsorbed cation and anion charge,
respectively. Note that O"in can be either positive or negative.
The chemical interpretation of O"in measured by the Schofield method
depends sensitively on the type and concentration of probe electrolyte
used. If these properties are chosen so that the cation in the reacting
electrolyte neutralizes precisely the exposed functional group charge
associated with isomorphic substitutions and dissociated hydroxyls and so
that the anion neutralizes only the exposed protonated functional groups,
then q + and q _ will have optimal magnitude for the chosen pH value and
O"in will be truly an intrinsic surface charge density. On the other hand, if
the cation in the probe electrolyte is not able to displace all of the native
adsorbed cations in, e.g., inner-sphere surface complexes, or if the anion
cannot displace all of the native anions bound to protonated functional
groups, or if either ion does not form only neutral surface complexes in the
soil clay, then O"in will differ from its optimal value.
Thus the intrinsic surface charge density viewed operationally can exhibit
different values for the same soil clay at a given pH. The optimal value of
O"in represents the difference between the largest quantities of positive and
negative charge achievable intrinsically by exposed surface functional
groups. Nonoptimal values of O"in fall into the broad spectrum of possible
differences between the varying amounts of positive and negative charge
that can be brought to soil clay surfaces by cations and anions of varying
adsorption characteristics. If they are positive, these nonoptimal values of
q +. and q. usually are termed cation and anion exchange capacities.
respectively. The reflect only the reactivities of chosen probe ions with
37
qF)
5
= (2N
(10
18
Uo
Aab
38
When N-alkylammonium cations form the 1.36-nm monolayer structure, they lie flat between opposing basal planes and each cation covers a
van der Waals area equal to (0.057n c + 0.14) nm z. Since the cation is
univalent, this area is associated with one proton charge. As the value of n;
increases, the area required by a cation increases. At some point, the area
required becomes larger than the area per electron charge on a basal plane
and the monolayer structure is no longer stable. The 1.77-nm bilayer
structure then becomes the favored one because the area requirement of
the adsorbed organic cation can be met independently on each opposing
basal plane in the interlayer region (Fig. 1.14). At the monolayer-bilayer
transition, the area per adsorbed cation just equals the area per electron
charge on a basal plane. Therefore, at the transition point,
ab
0.057n c + 0.14 = x
x =
ab
0.057n c + 0.14
(1.23)
where x is the layer charge of the phyllosilicate, defined in Sec. 1.1. With
the values of x indicated in Table 1.3 and a typical value of 0.46 nm z for
the product ab, the monolayer-bilayer transition can be expected for
4 <: n; :5 14 in smectite and 2 <: n c <: 4 in vermiculite. The layer charge of
illitic mica is usually too large for the monolayer-bilayer transition to be
observed at any n.:
Figure 1.14 illustrates the monolayer-bilayer transition for a clay fraction
deep in the subsoil of a Spanish Vertisol."? As is commonly found, the
Figure 1.14. Basal plane spacings of N-alkylammonium complexes with a Vertisol
clay fraction and the corresponding layer charge distributiorr."
bilayer
monolayer
Layer Charge
Distribution
o
~
~ 50
~2.0
E
.5
o
9 1.5
-01
....'
15
a..
SOIL CLAY
VERTISOL
1.0
n
u
cr
w
....L...L..........,
20
0,6
LAYER CHARGE
0.7
39
transition does not take place at a single value of n.; instead it begins at
n c = 11 and ends at n c = 14. This gradual transition reflects the fact that
the layer charge in the clay does not have a single value, i.e., there is layer
charge heterogeneity. In this example, the layer charge distribution can be
estimated with the help of Table 1.9, which is based on Eq. 1.23 (with
ab = 0.465 nm 2 ) and on the theory of X-ray diffraction by randomly
interstratified phyllosilicates. 48 The basal plane spacings in Fig. 1.14 are
1.36,1.48,1.60, and 1.77 nm for n c = 11,12,13, and 14, respectively. The
data in Table 1.9 show that basal spacings of 1.36 nm at nc = 11 and
1.48 nm at n c = 12 correspond to about 29 per cent of the interlayer
regions having layer charges between 0.58 and 0.64. Similarly, 1.6 nm at
n c = 13 and 1.48 nm at n c = 12 correspond to 49 - 29 = 20 per cent
of the interlayer regions having layer charges between 0.56 and 0.58, and
1.77 nm at n c = 14 and 1.6 nm at n c = 13 correspond to 51 per cent of the
interlayer regions with layer charges between 0.52 and 0.56. This distribution of layer charge is plotted in Fig. 1.14. Similar kinds of charge
partitioning involving combinations of X-ray diffraction data with theoretical analysis are possible for vermiculitic and mixed-phyllosilicate soil
clays."?
DENSITY. The surface density of net proton
is defined by an expression analogous to Eq. 1.21:
charge,
UH,
(1.24)
where qH is the moles of complexed proton charge and qOH is the moles of
complexed hydroxyl charge on proton-selective surface functional groups
Table 1.9. Relations between carbon number (n c ) and layer charge (x), and between
basal plane spacing [d(OOl)] and bilayer
fraction (p) for
N-alkylammoniumsmectite complexes'"
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
d(OOl), nm
1.00
0.88
0.80
0.74
0.68
0.64
0.58
0.56
0.52
0.50
1.36
1.40
1.45
1.50
1.55
1.60
1.65
1.70
1.73
1.77
0.00
0.13
0.24
0.33
0.40
0.49
0.58
0.70
0.80
1.00
11111,
40
per unit mass of soil clay. The quantity qOH is equal formally to the moles
of charge on ionized, proton-selective functional groups per unit mass of
soil clay. The numerator in Eq. 1.24 applies only to surfaces bearing
functional groups whose charge is intrinsically pH-dependent, i.e., inorganic hydroxyl groups and most organic functional groups.
The maximum values of qH/S and qOH/S for oxide, hydrous oxide, and
hydroxide minerals can be estimated from crystallographic data if supporting information concerning the potential reactivity of the surface hydroxyl
groups is available. For example, although the plane perpendicular to the
crystallographic a axis on the surface of goethite contains four OH groups
per unit cell (one type A, two type B, and one type C), only the type A
group is believed to react with protons to form OHt groups.P Since the
unit cell dimensions of goethite are a = 0.465 nm, b = 1.002 nm, and
c = 0.304 nm", there should be one reactive OH group per 0.305 nrrr',
corresponding to a maximum qH/S of 5.45 x 10- 6 mol.m "? when the
plane is fully protonated. Given that 80 per cent of the goethite surface
is made up from this plane, the maximum value of qH/S is 4.36 x
10- 6 mOlcm- Z The maximum value of qOH/S for goethite can be estimated
similarly after making the assumption that all of the type A hydroxyl
groups plus the water molecules bound to the Lewis acid sites (Sec. 1.2)
can ionize at high pH. Full dissociation of the water molecules, which lie on
the plane perpendicular to the crystallographic b axis that makes up the
rest of the goethite surface, yields one OH- per 0.141 nrrr', or 1.18 x
10- 5 mOlcm- z. The resulting maximum value for qOH/S is 6.72 x
10- 6 mOlcm- Z Crystallographic estimates of maximum qH/S and qOH/S
for goethite, gibbsite, and kaolinite are presented in Table 1.10. In each
calculation, the assumption was made that only aluminol groups can be
protonated, whereas aluminol, silanol, and Lewis acid water molecules can
each dissociate one proton. It was assumed also that only the edge surfaces
on gibbsite and kaolinite bear reactive hydroxyl groups. This assumption is
qOH/S,
p,molcm -z
Mineral
Goethite
Gibbsite
Kaolinite
a
4.4
2.8
0.35
6.7
5.6
1.0
41
suspension of
solid in background
electrolyte
background
electrolyte
solution
liquid
junctions
calomel
electrode
cK
[OH-] = [H:]
(1.26)
iJUH)
aI
= 0
(pH = PZSE)
(1.27)
where I is the ionic strength of the background electrolyte solution and Tis
the absolute temperature. The PZSE and other points of zero charge are
discussed in Chap. 3.
Equation 1.25 fundamentally is a mass balance expression for protons
and hydroxide ions added to a suspension of surface-reactive solids. If V is
the volume of the suspension, then (C A - [H+])V and (C B - [OH-])V
are equal, respectively, to moles of protons and moles of hydroxide ions
"bound" in some sense by the suspension constituents. The difference
between these two quantities divided by the muss of the solid material in
42
NOTES
1. The geometric relationships among solid particle shape, area, and volume are
described in detail in L. D. Baver, W. H. Gardner, and W. R. Gardner, Soil
Physics, Chap. 1. Wiley, New York, 1972.
2. A detailed summary of this and other perturbations of the octahedral sheet is
given in R. E. Grim, Clay Mineralogy, Chap. 4. McGraw-Hill, New York,
1968.
3. L. Pauling, The Nature of the Chemical Bond, Chap. 13. Cornell University
Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1960.
4. U. Schwertmann and R. M. Taylor, Iron oxides, in Minerals in Soil Environments (J. B. Dixon and S. B. Weed, eds.) Soil Science Society of America,
Madison, Wis., 1977. U. Schwertmann, D. G. Schulze, and E. Murad, Identification offerrihydrite in soils by dissolution kinetics, differential X-ray diffraction, and Mossbauer spectroscopy, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46: 869 (1982).
5. H. D. Megaw, Crystal Structures: A Working Approach, Chap. 13. Saunders,
Philadelphia, 1973.
6. R. M. McKenzie, Manganese oxides and hydroxides, in J. B. Dixon and
S. B. Weed, op. cit:"
7. G. Brown, A.C.D. Newman, J. H. Rayner, and A. H. Weir, The structures
and chemistry of soil clay minerals, in The Chemistry of Soil Constituents
(D. J. Greenland and M.H.B. Hayes, eds.). Wiley, Chichester, U.K., 1978.
Concerning goethite, see also R. W. Fitzpatrick and U. Schwertmann, AI
substituted goethite: An indicator of pedogenic and other weathering environments in South Africa, Geoderma 27:33; (I \1H2).
43
44
23. K. Norrish, Factors in the weathering of mica to vermiculite, Proc. Int. Clay
Conf. 1972, p. 417 (1973).
24. B. L. Sawhney, Interstratification in layer silicates, in J. B. Dixon and
S. B. Weed, op. cit.4
25. C. I. Rich, Hydroxy interlayers in expansible layer silicates, Clays and Clay
Minerals 16: 15 (1968). P. H. Hsu, Aluminum hydroxides and oxyhydroxides,
in J. B. Dixon and S. B. Weed, op. cit.4
26. B. D. Mitchell, Oxides and hydrous oxides of silicon, in Soil Components,
Vol. 2: Inorganic Components (1. E. Gieseking, ed.). Springer-Verlag, New
York, 1975.
27. B.K.G. Theng, Clay-polymer interactions: Summary and perspectives, Clays
and Clay Minerals 30: 1 (1982). K. R. Tate and B.K.G. Theng, Organic matter and its interactions with inorganic soil constituents, in B.K.G. Theng,
op. cit. 1o
28. E.A.C. Follett, W. J. McHardy, B. D. Mitchell, and B.F.L. Smith, Chemical
dissolution techniques in the study of soil clays, Clay Minerals 6: 23 (1965).
E.A.C. Follett, The retention of amorphous, colloidal "ferric hydroxide" by
kaolinites, J. Soil Sci. 16: 334 (1965). A. W. Fordham and K. Norrish, Electron
microprobe and electron microscope studies of soil clay particles, Aust. J. Soil
Res. 17:283 (1979).
29. E. A. Jenne, Trace element sorption by sediments and soils-Sites and
processes, in Molybdenum in the Environment (W. Chappel and K. Petersen,
eds.). Dekker, New York, 1976.
30. J. P. Quirk and L.A.G. Aylmore, Domains and quasi-crystalline regions in
clay systems, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 35: 652 (1971).
31. S. Brunaer, L. E. Copeland, and D. L. Kantro, The Langmuir and BET
theories, in The Solid-Gas Interface (E. A. Flood, ed.), Vol. 1. Dekker, New
York, 1967. Equation 1.7 is derived under the assumption that an infinite
number of layers build up on the absorbing surface. If the number of layers is
finite, a more general expression results, but it cannot be distinguished from
Eq. 1.7 when plotted as in Fig. 1.12 unless the number of layers is fewer than
three.
32. D. L. Carter, M. D. Heilman, and C. L. Gonzalez, Ethylene glycol monoethyl
ether for determining surface area of silicate minerals, Soil Sci. 100: 356 (1965).
M. D. Heilman, D. L. Carter and C. L. Gonzalez, The ethylene glycol
monoethyl ether (EGME) technique for determining soil-surface area, Soil
Sci. 100:409 (1965). L. J. Cihacek and J. M. Bremner, A simplified ethylene
glycol monoethyl ether procedure for assessment of soil surface area, Soil Sci.
Soc. Am. J. 43: 821 (1979). A "single-point" method involving the adsorption
of water vapor by a Ca-saturated soil in equilibrium with a relative humidity
of 20 per cent (e.g., a saturated solution of CaBrz) has been suggested by
J. P. Quirk, cited in note 33. For critical studies of these single-point methods,
see I. M. Eltantawy and P. W. Arnold, Reappraisal of the ethylene glycol
monoethyl ether (EGME) method for surface area estimations of clays, J. Soil
Sci. 24:232 (1973), and Ethylene glycol sorption by homoionic montmorillonites, J. Soil Sci. 25:99 (1974).
33. H. D. Orchiston, Adsorption of water vapor. I: Soils at 25 C, Soil Sci. 76: 453
(1953). J. P. Quirk, Significance of surface areas calculated from water vapor
sorption isotherms by use of the BET equation, Soil Sci. 80: 423 (1955).
34. R. W. Mooney. A. G. Keenan. and L. A. Wood. Adsorption of water vapor
by montmorillonite. I: IIcut of desorption lind application of RET theory.
45
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 74: 1367 (1952). II: Effect of exchangeable ions and lattice
swelling as measured by X-ray diffraction, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 74: 1371 (1952).
35. D. J. Greenland and J. P. Quirk, Surface areas of soil colloids, in Transactions
of Comm. IV and V. International Society of Soil Science, Palmerston North,
N.Z., 1962. Determination of surface areas by adsorption of cetyl pyridinium
bromide from aqueous solution, J. Phys. Chem. 67: 2886 (1963). Determination of the total specific surface areas of soils by adsorption of cetyl pyridinium
bromide, J. Soil Sci. 15: 178 (1964).
36. R. K. Schofield, Calculation of surface areas from measurements of negative
adsorption, Nature 160: 408 (1947). R. K. Schofield and O. Talibudeen,
Measurement of the internal surface by negative adsorption, Disc. Faraday Soc.
3:51 (1948). H. J. van den Hul and J. Lyklema, Determination of specific
surface areas of dispersed materials by negative adsorption, J. Colloid Interface
Sci. 23: 500 (1967).
37. G. Sposito, The Thermodynamics of Soil Solutions, Chap. 6. Clarendon Press,
Oxford, 1981.
38. G. H. Bolt, Soil Chemistry. B: Physico-Chemical Models, Chap. 7. Elsevier,
Amsterdam, 1979.
39. G. H. Bolt and B. P. Warkentin, The negative adsorption of anions by clay
suspensions, Kolloid-Z. 156: 41 (1958).
40. D. G. Edwards, A. M. Posner, and J. P. Quirk, Repulsion of chloride ions by
negatively charged clay surfaces, I, II, and III, Trans. Faraday Soc. 61: 2808
(1965).
41. P. J. Sullivan, The principle of hard and soft acids and bases as applied to
exchangeable cation selectivity in soils, Soil Sci. 124:117 (1977).
42. D. J. Cebula, R. K. Thomas, and J. W. White, Small angle neutron scattering
from dilute aqueous dispersions of clay, J.C.S. Faraday I, 76:314 (1980).
43. R. K. Schofield, Effect of pH on electric charges carried by clay particles,
J. Soil Sci. 1: 1 (1949). B. van Raij and M. Peech, Electrochemical properties of
some Oxisols and Alfisols of the tropics, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 36: 587 (1972).
D. J. Greenland, Determination of pH dependent charges of clays using
caesium chloride and X-ray fluorescence spectrography, Trans. 10th Int. Congr.
Soil Sci. (Moscow) 11:278 (1974). D. J. Greenland and C.J.B. Mott, Surfaces
of soil particles, in D. J. Greenland and M.H.B. Hayes, op. cit.'
44. This important application of nonoptimal values of ain is discussed in
R. L. Parfitt, Chemical properties of variable charge soils, in B.K.G. Theng,
op. cit. 1O
45. G. Lagaly and A. Weiss, Determination of the layer charge in mica-type layer
silicates, Proc. Int. Clay Conf. 1969, p. 61 (1969). G. Lagaly and A. Weiss,
The layer charge of smectic layer silicates, Proc. Int. Clay Conf. 1975, p. 157
(1976). G. Lagaly, M. Fernadez Gonzalez, and A. Weiss, Problems in layercharge determination of montmorillonites, Clay Minerals 11: 173 (1976).
46. G. Ruehlicke and E. E. Kohler, A simplified procedure for determining layer
charge by the N-alkylammonium method, Clay Minerals 16: 305 (1981).
47. J. L. Perez Rodriguez, A. Weiss, and G. Lagaly, A natural clay organic
complex from Andalusian black earth, Clays and Clay Minerals 25: 743 (1977).
48. G. Lagaly, Characterization of clays by organic compounds, Clay Minerals
16:1 (1981).
49. G. Lagaly, The "layer charge" of regular interstratified 2: I clay minerals,
Clays and Clay Minerals 27: I (1979). Layer charge heterogeneity in vermiculites, Clays and Clay Minerals 30: 215 (19H2).
46
2
THE STRUCTURE OF WATER NEAR
CLAY MINERAL SURFACES
The most important surface reactions in soils occur when liquid water is
the fluid phase in contact with the particles of the clay fraction. An understanding of these reactions requires not only information about the structural chemistry of the solid phases, the subject of Chap. 1, but also an
appreciation of what effects the contiguous liquid phase may have on
surface functional group behavior. As a first approximation, one can state
that these effects should be the same as those observed for functional group
reactivity in aqueous solutions containing small molecules. This conjecture
can be correct for dilute soil clay suspensions, but it can be quite wrong for
soil clays enveloped only by a thin film of water because the solid surfaces
could perturb the water molecules enough to alter their configuration from
what exists in the bulk liquid phase. The altered water structure, in turn,
could exhibit solvent properties different from those of the bulk liquid and
therefore affect surface functional group reactivity in a different manner.
Any inference concerning the effects of a possibly altered molecular
structure of water near the solid surfaces in soil clays must proceed from an
acquaintance with the structure of liquid water in bulk and in aqueous
electrolyte solutions. In this section, the current picture of the molecular
arrangement in bulk water is reviewed. In Sec. 2.2, the same is done for
aqueous solutions of inorganic electrolytes. These summaries are followed
by discussions of the structure of water near the surfaces of phyllosilicates
and the effect of these surfaces on the solvent properties of the water
molecule.
The characteristic feature that distinguishes liquids from solids, and in
particular liquid water from ice, is the influence of time scales on molecular structure. For solids, this influence is minimal. For liquids, it is so
important that the very definition of the term structure must incorporate it
in an essential way. I Consider a typical water molecule as it moves about
48
through the bulk liquid phase. On a time scale that is short compared with
a period of vibration for a hydrogen bond (about z x 10- 13 s), the water
molecule "sees" a spatial arrangement of its neighbors that is called the
instantaneous structure- (I structure). This I structure exhibits water molecules in a highly irregular arrangement because it exists on a time scale so
short that the position and orientation of individual molecules can be
momentarily far removed from their most probable values. Thus the
separation between a typical molecule and its nearest neighbors, as well as
the degree of hydrogen bonding among them, deviates considerably in the
I structure from the most stable average configuration. If the time scale
is lengthened so as to lie somewhere between 2 x 10- 13 s and the time
required for a water molecule to diffuse in the liquid through a distance
equal to its own diameter (about 10- 11 s) a typical molecule see a surrounding spatial arrangement called the vibrationally averaged structure
(V structure). This structure shows water molecules near their most
probable position because it exists on a time scale long enough to include
many hydrogen bond bending and stretching vibrations and therefore
represents an average over the positions of the molecules during those
vibrations. The V structure thus presents more local ordering and less
hydrogen bond distortion than the I structure.j Finally, on a time scale that
is very long compared with a diffusion time (about 10- 6 s), a typical water
molecule sees a spatial configuration of its neighbors known as the
diffusionally averaged structure (D structure). This structure includes all
effects of vibrational, rotational, and translational motion of the water
molecules. It is more ordered than the V structure because it represents
long-time averages of positions and orientations leading to only the most
probable molecular configurations. Since the time scale is long enough for
diffusive motions to take place in the liquid, a typical molecule does not see
just one set of neighboring molecules in the D structure, of course.
Instead, neighboring molecules come and go, leaving the' chosen typical
molecule to see the average or most probable sites and orientations they
occupy.
Even these brief remarks should make it clear that the concept of
structure in liquid water is a dynamic one. The molecular arrangements
perceived and particularly their degree of ordering very much depend on
the time scale involved. It is critically important to bear this feature in mind
when discussing the experimental methods used commonly to study the
structure of water since each method is itself characterized by a specific
time scale during which it probes a molecular environment. Several of
these experimental methods are indicated in Fig. 2.1. The molecular
structural parameters that can be deduced by applying the methods to
liquid water and aqueous solutions are listed in Table 2.1.
The infrared (IR) and Raman spectrometers available for studies of
liquid water cover a frequency range corresponding to periods of molecular
vibration between 10- 15 and 10- 12 S3. Thus optical spectroscopy can give
information concerning the transition from the I structure to the V
49
STRUCTURE
TIME SCALE IN
SECONDS (log)
I R SPECTRA
NEUTRON
SCATTERING
ESR SPECTRA
NMR SPECTRA
DIELECTRIC
RELAXATION
NEUTRON AND
X-RAY
DIFFRACTION
THERMODYNAMIC
PROPERTIES
Figure 2.1. Time scales for methods used to study the molecular structure of liquid
water.
Table 2.1. Molecular properties of liquid water and the experimental methods that
measure them
Method
Infrared and Raman
spectroscopy
Electron spin resonance
Incoherent neutron
scattering
Dielectric relaxation
50
51
52
53
b.
~.a. -0- ~
~~rf.P .P
-o..~~
-0".
(0)
( b)
Figure 2.2. (a) Ideal local tetrahedral configuration of molecules in liquid water.
(b) Monte Carlo computer simulation of the V structure in liquid water. (After
Rice 1)
273
278
283
288
293
298
303
308
D .. 10- 9 ms
2-1
1.092
1.313
1.543
1.777
2.021
2.302
2.620
2.919
'7"d,
psa
12.7
10.5
9.0
7.8
6.8
6.0
5.3
4.7
'7"1>
psb
17.9
14.9
12.6
10.8
9.3
8.1
7.2
6.4
'7"2,
psc
5.8
4.9
4.3
3.7
3.2
2.9
2.5
2.3
54
this fact is that the local environment of a water molecule in the liquid
undergoes many fluctuations during the course of an elementary "singleparticle" motion through translation or rotation, Therefore, the parameters in Table 2.2, although of molecular significance, describe the
transition from V structure to D structure only in the broadest terms and
cannot be used to examine either structure in great detail because those
details are washed out by many fluctuations. 9
The D structure of liquid water as revealed by X-ray, neutron, and
electron diffraction experiments'r'" comprises water molecules hydrogenbonded in an extensive network that exhibits local tetrahedral ordering.
The persistence of the tetrahedral structure (Fig. 2.2) is exemplified by the
fact that the coordination number of a water molecule in the liquid,
obtained by integration of the first peak in the radial distribution function
determined from X-ray diffraction data, is equal to 4.4 throughout the
temperature range from the melting point to the boiling point. However,
the diffraction data also indicate that water molecules outside the shell of
nearest neighbors may deviate considerably from the configurations projected on the basis of, e.g., an ice-like ordering. Therefore, a large number
of distorted or broken hydrogen bonds exists in the liquid, and it is these
bonds that determine the time-dependent properties of water.
The structure of liquid water as reviewed here is actually a kind of
sequence of structures whose degree of ordering and connectivity increases
with the time scale of molecular observation. Perhaps the most succinct
definition of liquid water structure that encompasses all of the known
qualitative characteristics related to time scales is that given recently by
F. H. Stillinger;' "Liquid water consists of a macroscopically connected,
random network of hydrogen bonds, with frequent strained and broken
bonds, that is continually undergoing topological reformation. [The] properties of water arise from the competition between relatively bulky ways
of connecting molecules into local patterns characterized by strong
bonds and nearly tetrahedral angles and more compact arrangements
characterized by more strain and bond breakage."
2.2. ELECTROLYTE SOLUTIONS
55
primary and secondary solvation shells. This model should include the
numbers and configurations of the water molecules in the shells, as well as
their residence times and the other single-particle parameters in Table 2.2.
All of these properties are expected to vary with the nature of the
electrolyte ions (particularly their valence and radius), with the concentration and temperature of the solution, and with the pressure applied to it.
The primary solvation shell of a small monovalent
cation appears to contain about six water molecules if the solution is dilute
and about three if the solution is concentrated. The residence time, Tb' of
the water molecules in the primary shell has been estimated on the basis of
dielectric and NMR relaxation experiments'? to be about 10 ps. This figure
is an order of magnitude larger than the residence time of a water molecule
in tetrahedral coordination with a given set of nearest neighbors in the bulk
liquid but is equal to the time required for a "diffusive step" (Table 2.2).
Thus the primary solvation shell of a small monovalent cation is relatively
well defined temporally, although diffusive exchange of solvation water
molecules with those in the bulk liquid is expected to be rapid. For larger
monovalent cations and for monovalent anions, relaxation experiments
indicate Tb < 5 ps, which is comparable with the residence time in the bulk
liquid. The uniqueness of the primary solvation shell for these ions is
therefore doubtful.
The number and orientation of the water molecules in the primary
solvation shell of Li+ have been investigated by X-ray and neutron diffraction. 15 ,17 In solutions of LiCI, the solvation shell contains about three
water molecules in a 10 m solution and about six in a 3.6 m solution. Over
the same range of molality, the angle (J between the dipolar axis of a
solvating water molecule and a coulomb field line passing through the
center of the molecule varies from 52 15 to 40 10. These angles are
near to but less than the 55 angle expected if lone-pair electrons in the
water oxygen atom interacted with the cation. If the solvating water
molecule behaved as a point dipole and aligned itself perfectly with the
cationic coulomb field, the angle observed would be 0 instead of 55.
Evidently the tendency toward dipolar orientation increases as solution
concentration decreases. The rotational correlation time, T2' for the solvating water molecules around u: in the limit of infinite dilution has been
estimated to be about 5 ps on the basis of the NMR relaxation method.l''
This is roughly the same as T2 for bulk water. For the rotational correlation
time of the entire solvation complex, T e , a value of 15 3 ps has been
determined by the same method.
The secondary solvation shell about an ion can be studied by neutron
diffraction and incoherent neutron scattering. 15 ,17 ,18 When applied to 5 m
LiCI, these methods, indicate that Li+ does not have a secondary solvation
shell. The same result would be expected for larger inorganic monovalent
cations. The absence of a secondary solvation shell around monovalent
ions is not surprising given the relatively small values of Th and T., quoted
MONOVALENT IONS.
56
above. On the other hand, neutron scattering results for dilute solutions
are not yet available, and it is possible that INS data will indicate the
existence of a weak second-zone structure around widely spaced Li +
cations, in agreement with the predictions of Monte Carlo computer
simulations of Li+-water systems.l"
On the basis of NMR relaxation experiments.l" the
residence time of a water molecule in the primary solvation shell of a
bivalent cation has been estimated to lie in the range 10- 9 s < Tb < 10- 4 s.
This time scale is much longer than that pertaining to self-diffusion in the
bulk liquid, and it implies that the solvation molecules move through a
solution of bivalent cations right along with the cations. For these water
molecules, both T2 and T c fall in the range 10 to 30 ps. Thus the primary
solvation shell is a temporally well-defined structural unit in aqueous
solutions containing bivalent cations.
The number of water molecules in the primary solvation shell of a
bivalent cation as determined by diffraction methods is always between six
and eight unless either cation size or ion-pair complexes intervene to
produce smaller values. 15 ,17 Thus the primary shell can be either an
octahedral or cubic complex. Table 2.3 shows how the solvation number
and orientation of water molecules in a solvation complex can vary with
electrolyte concentration. 17 The variation in (J with the molality of NiH is
striking. Evidently lone-pair interactions between a water molecule and
this cation are favored in concentrated solutions but dipolar interactions
are favored in dilute solutions.
Diffraction experiments also give evidence for a secondary solvation
shell around bivalent cations.Pr" This shell contains about 15 water
molecules whose mobility varies with electrolyte concentration. INS data 18
indicate clearly that the self-diffusion coefficient of the water molecules in
the second-zone structure approaches the diffusion coefficient of the
solvated cation as the molality of the solution decreases. Thus the
secondary solvation shell moves as a solvation complex with the cation in
dilute solutions.
BIVALENT CATIONS.
Molality
, 4.41
3.05
1.46
0.85
0.46
11.1186
Solvation number
5.8
5.8
5.8
6.6
6.8
6.8
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.5
II.S
II.S
Orientation angle, (}
42
42
42
27
17
8
8
8
10
10
on 20
57
58
59
1
I
I
- -M---'--'t)-e----
~ ~------
-\ -----1--\
\
I
I
lO-A
halloysite. (After
60
61
where M represents one mole of cation charge on the basal planes and
x = 2
+ b + c' - a - d
(2.2)
is the layer charge, defined conceptually in Sec. 1.1 and given numerically
in Table 1.3. The trioctahedral vermiculites offer the distinct advantage of
being available in macrocrystalline forms of high purity that permit
exhaustive study by X-ray diffraction. The interlayer water structures
determined for these clay minerals are presumed to be models for those
that exist on the surfaces of the more disordered dioctahedral vermiculites
found commonly in soils.
The configuration of water molecules between the basal planes in
vermiculite depends sensitively on the nature of the 'cation complexed on
these surfaces to balance the negative charge produced by isomorphic
substitution of Al,l for Si4 + in the tetrahedral sheet. Because of this
substitution. the siloxanc ditrigonal cavities exhibit a relatively localized
j
62
charge distribution that can interact strongly with both cations and water
molecules, as mentioned in Sec. 1.2. The overall effect of the charge
localization should be a proximity of the complexed cations to tetrahedral
sites containing At3+ and the formation of relatively strong hydrogen
bonds between interlayer water molecules and surface oxygen atoms.
Aside from these effects of the vermiculite surface, however, it is expected
that the organization of water molecules in the interlayer region conforms
to the behavior observed in relatively concentrated aqueous solutions,
described in Sec. 2.2. In particular, water molecules in a fully hydrated
vermiculite should be coordinated in a single solvation shell about monovalent cations and in two shells about bivalent cations unless stereochemical
factors intervene to make inner-sphere surface complexes with the cations
more stable than outer-sphere complexes. Moreover, the solvation water
molecules near monovalent cations should be relatively mobile and those
in the first solvation shells about bivalent cations should move with the
cation as a unit. Reasoning on the basis of the known behavior of water
molecules in aqueous electrolyte solutions, one predicts that hydrated
vermiculites comprise interlayer ionic solutions, with the cations and
solvating water molecules influenced by the coulomb fields emanating from
tetrahedral sites containing AI3+.
In atmospheres of relative humidity greater than 20 per cent, Mgvermiculite forms a hydrate with a basal plane spacing of 1.436 nm, which
is adequate for the accommodation of two monolayers of water molecules
in the interlayer region.i" The arrangement of the Mg cations and the
water molecules has been studied intensively by X-ray diffraction, and the
details of the cation and water-molecule oxygen atom positions have been
established.l" An illustration of the structure of the interlayer region is
given in Fig. 2.4. The magnesium cations are positioned midway between
opposing basal planes over sites in the tetrahedral sheet that contain A13+ .
This arrangement permits a localized charge balance between the clay
Figure 2.4. The D-structure of water in the interlayers of the two-layer hydrate of
Mg-vermiculite. (After Alcover and Gatineau30 )
63
water molecules even when its Ba2+ ions are in inner-sphere complexes,
evidently because of its higher ionic potential.
The two-layer hydrate of Na-vermiculite contains Na+ with octahedral
primary solvation shells.F' Because the cation is monovalent, all possible
surface complex sites are filled and no more than six water molecules can
solvate a cation uniquely. (By comparison with data on the solvation of
Na+ in aqueous solutions, one would conjecture that only a primary
solvation shell exists even if all surface complexation sites are not filled.)
Thus the interlayer region of the two-layer hydrate consists of a network of
solvation octahedra with hydrogen bonding both within the octahedra and
with surface oxygen atoms of the clay mineral. 33 These hydrogen bonds are
somewhat longer than those in the two-layer hydrate of Mg-vermiculite
and therefore are expected to be weaker. At relative humidities below
40 per cent, Na-vermiculite forms a monolayer hydrate wherein Na"
coordinates to surface oxygen atoms in one basal plane and rests on three
water molecules bonded to the opposing basal plane in a fashion similar to
what occurs in the 1. 153-nm monolayer hydrate of Mg-vermiculite. Model
calculations of the arrangement of water molecules in a hypothetical
monolayer hydrate of K-vermiculite suggest that the interlayer water
structure is like that in the monolayer hydrate of Ba-vermiculite, described
above.i" Thus, to some extent, parallels can be drawn between the structures of the solvating water molecules in monovalent and bivalent cationsaturated vermiculites.
The dynamic properties of the interlayer water structures in Ca-, Na-,
and Li-vermiculite have been investigated by INS. 35 The data for the twolayer hydrate of Ca-vermiculite were modeled quantitatively under the
assumptions (a) that a fraction of the adsorbed water protons are in the
octahedral primary solvation shells of the Ca2+ cations and are immobile
on the neutron scattering time scale and (b) that some of the remaining
adsorbed water protons diffuse by jumps within a region bounded by the
opposing siloxane surface and the solvated Ca2+ while others undergo
isotropic, translational jump diffusion between adjacent bounded regions.
The two jump-diffusion residence times were found to be about 15 ps and
150 ps. Assumption (a) is in agreement with the residence time of 10- 9 to
10- 4 s observed for primary solvation shell water molecules in aqueous
solutions containing bivalent cations. Moreover, since the diffusion coefficients of bivalent cations on vermiculite." are around 10- 12 m2s-1, they
can move a distance equal to their own diameters (= 0.2 nm) in about
10- 8 s, which is also much longer than the neutron scattering time scale
(Fig. 2.1). Therefore, water protons in the primary solvation shell should
be immobile targets for neutrons. Assumption (b) is consistent geometrically with the D structure in Fig. 2.4. The effective self-diffusion coefficient
for the water protons in the region between solvation shells was determined to be about 10- 9 m2s- 1 , about one half the value found in bulk
liquid water (Table 2.2).
65
Neutron scattering data for Li- and Na-vermiculite, on the other hand,
gave no indication of water protons being immobile on the neutron
scattering time scale. 35 This result is consistent with the behavior of water
molecules in aqueous solution, since the residence time in the primary
solvation shell of a monovalent cation is about 10- 11 s, well within the time
scale probed by neutrons. However, as shown in Table 2.4, the selfdiffusion coefficients of water molecules on Li- and Na-vermiculite were
found to be much smaller than the bulk liquid value at 298 K. These data
suggest that, even in the two-layer hydrate, the solvating water molecules
exhibit only about 5 per cent of the mobility they have in the bulk liquid
phase and about 10 per cent of that in the primary solvation shell of a
monovalent cation in aqueous solution (D s = 1.3 x 10- 9 mZs- 1) 16 . This
reduction in water molecule mobility is evidently produced by interactions
with the charge distribution on the siloxane surface.
Magnetic resonance (ESR and NMR) studies''? have provided additional
details about the orientational motion of the water molecules adsorbed by
vermiculites. ESR spectra of Cu-vermiculite and NMR spectra of Mg- and
Na-vermiculite indicate clearly that the primary solvation shells of the
cations on the two-layer hydrate are octahedral complexes with a preferred
orientation relative to the siloxane surface. For Cu-vermiculite, the
symmetry axis through the solvation complex, Cu(HzO)~+, makes an angle
of about 45 with the siloxane surface; on Na-vermiculite the axis through
Na(HzO)t makes an angle of 65. The value of T e , the correlation time for
the rotation of Na(HzO)t around its symmetry axis, is about 10- 7 s at 298
K. This value is four orders of magnitude larger than T e for a solvation
complex around a monovalent cation in aqueous solution. 16 Not quite as
disparate are TZ for Na(HzO)t, equal to 100 ps at 298 K, and TZ for a
monovalent solvation complex in dilute aqueous solution, equal to about
5 ps at the same temperature. These data show that the siloxane surface
retards the orientational motion of the water molecules.
The spatial extent of the adsorbed water layer on vermiculite group
minerals has been estimated on the basis of thermodynamic properties and
self-diffusion coefficients for water on Li- and Na-vermiculite.P" The
Table 2.4. Self-diffusion coefficients for water on vermiculite
determined by INS 35
Exchangeable
cation
Li
Li
Li
Na
Na
Na
Water content,
kg H 20/kg clay
d(OOl),
nm
0.079
0.114
0.135
0.080
0.111
0:185
1.275
1.33
1.405
1.371
1.392
1.448
0.1
0.5
1.1
0.6
0.6
1.7
66
67
(a)
Figure 2.5. The D structure of water in the interlayers of the one-layer hydrate of
M+-montmorillonite (M = Li, Na, K, etc.). Basal plane oxygens are shown as
shaded circles. (a) View along an axis perpendicular to the crystallographic c axis.
(b) View along the c axis, with water molecules nearest the upper basal plane (not
shown) indicated by dashed lines. (After M amy 4fJ)
lone-pair orbitals, and one of the water protons is directed along the
crystallographic c axis into a siloxane ditrigonal cavity. If a significant
localization of surface charge exists because of isomorphic cation
substitution in the tetrahedral sheet, however, hydrogen bonds are
formed between the solvating water molecules and surface oxygen
atoms, as in the vermiculite group minerals.
3. INS 44 and dielectric relaxatiorr'" studies both indicate that the water
molecules solvating the monovalent exchangeable cations on montmorillonite are roughly as mobile, in respect to translational and
reorientational motion, as water molecules in the bulk liquid. For
example, the INS data show that no water molecule is stationary On the
neutron scattering time scale. The data can be described mathematically
by a model that includes both jump translational and rotational
diffusion. In the one-layer hydrate of Li-montmorillonite, D, =
4 X 10- 10 m 2s-I, with a jump distance of about 0.35 nm, and 'Tl =
15 ps at 293 K. The values of D; and 'Tl suggest a sluggish motion of
the water molecules, consistent with what is observed for solvating
water molecules around monovalent cations in aqueous solutions.
The values of 7"1 for Na- and K-montmorillonites hydrated by a monolayer of watcr are around 5 ps, according to dielectric relaxation
68
Table 2.5. Dependence of some thermodynamic properties of Na-montmorillonite-water mixtures on water content"
Property a
Partial specific volume
(iJcPV/dT)P.8
-( iJcPV/dPh.8
Apparent specific
heat capacity == cPc
(iJcPc/iJPh.8
(iJcPs/iJPh,8
Larger
Larger than (iJvw/ iJ T)p
Smaller than -(iJvw/iJPh
Decreases
Decreases
Increases
Larger
Larger than (iJew/ iJPh
Smaller than (iJsw/dPh
Larger than (iJsw/iJvwh
Decreases
Decreases
Increases
Decreases
69
The definition of adsorbed water adopted in Sec. 2.3 requires an arrangement of water molecules that differs significantly from that in an appropriate reference aqueous phase. For water on the surfaces of kaolinite group
minerals the reference phase is bulk liquid water, whereas for water on
vermiculite and smectite surfaces the reference phase is an aqueous
solution because of the presence of exchangeable cations on the 2: 1 layer
silicates. On the basis of this definition, the consensus developed in
Sec. 2.3 is that the spatial extent of adsorbed water on a phyllosilicate
70
71
(2.3)
The equilibrium constant of this reaction has been measured for a variety
of metal cations in aqueous solutions and is known to correlate positively
with both ionic potential and Lewis acid softness.t? As the ionic potential
increases, the intensity of the positive coulomb field of the cation increases
and repulsion of a solvating water proton becomes more likely. As the
Lewis acid softness'" increases, the covalency of the M-O bond in a
solvation complex increases and electron density is withdrawn from the
O-H bond, thereby promoting the loss of the proton.
The reaction in Eq. 2.3 has been investigated extensively on siloxane
surfaces by coupling it with a Brensted base protonation reaction, e.g.,
M(HZo)m+
+ NH3
n
MOH(HZo)(m-1)+
+ NH+4
n-1
(2.4)
CK = {MOH(HzO)~~11)+}{NHt} =
(M(H zO):+)(NH3 )
{NHt}z
(HzO)(NH3 )
(2.5)
Misono
softness, 50
nm
Li+
13.5
0.053
Na+
9.8
0.111
K+
7.3
0.189
Ca2+
20.0
0.165
Mg2 +
27.8
0.096
Exchangeable
cation
{NHt},
mol, kg"
mof
0.20
0.98
0.20
0.98
0.20
0.98
0.20
0.98
0.20
0.98
0.23
0.17
0.16
0.10
0.10
0.11
0.80
0.16
1.01
0.74
1.32b
0.15
0.64
0.05
0.25
0.06
16.0
0.13
25.5
2.79
cK,
Water
activity
.,,11111011 of
72
NOTES
1. D. Eisenberg and W. Kauzmann, The Structure and Properties of Water,
Chap. 4. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1969. S. A. Rice, Conjectures on the
structures of amorphous solid and liquid water, Topics Curro Chem. 60: 109
(1975). F. H. Stillinger, Water revisited, Science 209:451 (1980).
2. These aspects of the V structure of liquid water are discussed in detail in
F. Hirata and P. J. Rossky, A realization of the "V structure" in liquid water,
J. Chem. Phys, 74:6H67 (IlJHI).
73
74
19. See, e.g., M. Mezei and D. L. Beveridge, Monte Carlo studies ofthe structure
of dilute aqueous solutions of Li+ , Na +, K +, F-, and Cl" ,J. Chern. Phys. 74:
6902 (1981).
20. M. Rao and B. J. Berne, Molecular dynamic simulation of the structure of
water in the vicinity of a solvated ion, J. Phys. Chern. 85: 1498 (1981).
J. Chandrasekhar and W. L. Jorgensen, The nature of dilute solutions of
sodium ion in water, methanol, and tetrahydrofuran, J. Chern. Phys. 77: 5080
(1982).
21. C. H. Lim, M. L. Jackson, R. D. Koons, and P. A. Helmke, Kaolins: Sources
of differences in cation-exchange capacities and cesium retention, Clays and
Clay Minerals 28: 223 (1980).
22. The structural characteristics of halloysite are discussed in detail in the first
three chapters of G. W. Brindley and G. Brown, Crystal Structures of Clay
Minerals and Their X-ray Identification. Mineralogical Society, London, 1980.
23. S. B. Hendricks, On the crystal structure of the clay minerals: Dickite,
halloysite, and hydrated halloysite, Am. Miner. 23:295 (1938). S. B. Hendricks and M. E. Jefferson, Structure of kaolin and talc-pyrophyllite hydrates
and their bearing on water sorption of the clays, Am. Miner. 23: 863 (1938).
24. S. Yariv and S. Shoval, The nature of the interaction between water molecules
and kaolin-like layers in hydrated halloysite, Clays and Clay Minerals 23: 473
(1975). M. I. Cruz, M. Letellier, and J. J. Fripiat, NMR study of adsorbed
water. II: Molecular motions in the monolayer hydrate of halloysite, J. Chern.
Phys. 69: 2018 (1978).
25. P. G. Hall and M. A. Rose, Dielectric properties of water adsorbed by
kaolinite clays, J. C.S. Faraday 174: 1221 (1978).
26. Heat capacity data for halloysite have been reported by M. I. Cruz et aI.,
op. cit. 24 and by P. M. Costanzo, R. F. Giese Jr., M. Lipsicas, and C. Straley,
Nature 296: 549 (1982).
27. J. J. Jurinak, Multilayer adsorption of water by kaolinite, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
27: 270 (1963).
28. J. J. Jurinak and D. H. Volman, Cation hydration effects on the thermodynamics of water adsorption by kaolinite, J. Phys. Chern. 65: 1853 (1961). R. A.
Kohl, J. W. Cary, and S. A. Taylor, On the interaction of water with a
Li-kaolinite surface, J. Colloid Sci. 19:699 (1964). See also J. Fripiat,
J. Cases, M. Francois, and M. Letellier, Thermodynamic and microdynamic
behavior of water in clay suspensions and gels, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 89: 378
(1982).
29. The molecular structure of vermiculite group minerals is discussed comprehensively by G. F. Walker, Vermiculites, in Soil Components, Vol. 2 (J. E.
Gieseking, ed.). Springer-Verlag, New York, 1953.
30. J. F. Alcover, L. Gatineau, and J. Mering, Exchangeable cation distribution
in nickel- and magnesium-vermiculites, Clays and Clay Minerals 21: 131 (1973).
M. I. Telleria, P. G. Slade, and E. W. Radoslovich, X-ray study of the
interlayer region of a barium-vermiculite, Clays and Clay Minerals 25: 119
(1977). J. F. Alcover and L. Gatineau, Structure de l'espace interlamellaire de
la vermiculite Mg bicouche, Clay Minerals 15: 25 (1980). J. F. Alcover and
L. Gatineau, Facteurs determinant la structure de la couche interlamellaire des
vermiculites saturees par des cations divalents, Clay Minerals 15:239 (1980).
J. A. Rausell-Colom, M. Fernandez, J. M. Serratosa, J. F. Alcover, and
L. Gatincau, Organisation de l'espace lnterlumeilaire dans les vermiculites
75
76
~'
77
:X-
G. W. Brindley and G. Brown, Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals and Their X-ray
Identification. Mineralogical Society, London, 1980. Chapter 3 of this standard
reference contains an excellent discussion of X-ray diffraction studies of adsorbed
water on phyllosilicates.
D. Eisenberg and W. Kauzmann, The Structure and Properties of Water. Oxford
University Press, New York, 1969. This book remains the best short introduction to
the properties of water in all of its phases. Chapter 4 should be read as background
for Sec. 2.1 of the present chapter.
F. Franks. Water: A Comprehensive Treatise, Plenum Press, New York, 19721981. The seven volumes of this encyclopedic reference work that have appeared
thus far contain discussions of all aspects of the chemistry and physics of liquid
water and aqueous solutions. Of special interest are the chapters on bulk liquid
water (Vol. 1), on water in electrolyte solutions (Vols. 3 and 6), and on clay-water
systems, (Vol. 5).
D. J. Greenland and M.H.B. Hayes, The Chemistry of Soil Constituents. Wiley,
Chichester, U.K., 1978. Chapter 6 of this outstanding compendium, written by
V. C. Farmer, reviews infrared spectroscopic studies of adsorbed water.
J. W. Stucki and W. L. Banwart, Advanced Chemical Methods for Soil and Clay
Minerals Research. Reidel, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1980. This book provides
an excellent introduction to the use of NMR and INS techniques for the
investigation of adsorbed water structure. Many experimental results for adsorbed
water on phyllosilicates are presented.
J. Texter, K. Klier, and A. C. Zettlemoyer, Water at surfaces, Prog. Surface
Membrane Sci. 12: 327 (1978). This review gives an account of the available data
concerning the properties of water on oxide and organic solid surfaces. The general
conclusions drawn are similar to those stated in the present chapter for the
structure of adsorbed water on phyllosilicates, except that hydrogen bonding of the
water to the surface plays a more prominent role.
3
THE ELECTRIFIED INTERFACE
IN SOILS
The creation of an interface between a soil solution and the solid phases of
a soil clay induces, by definition, fundamental dissymmetries in the
molecular environment of the interfacial region. The forces acting on a
cation bound into a siloxane ditrigonal cavity on a dry smectite surface, for
example, are entirely different from those acting on the same cation when
it is bathed by an aqueous solution phase, and the behavior of a cation
immersed in the soil solution near a smectite surface is very different from
its behavior near a small anion in the bulk aqueous phase. The net effect of
the molecular constituents of one phase on those of an adjacent phase is a
structural reorganization at the interface that reflects a compromise among
competing interactions originating in the bulk phases. It is, of course, for
this reason that the structure of liquid water near a solid phase is different
from that in the bulk liquid and the distribution of charge in both the solid
and aqueous solution phases near an interface becomes distorted from
what exists in bulk matter. Cations bound into inner-sphere surface
complexes may solvate and thereby become farther displaced from the site
of the negative charge they balance. Ions in the soil solution can respond
differently to an altered water structure or to shifts in the charge distribution in the solid phase at the interface by assuming configurations that are
not electrically neutral in a representative volume element in the aqueous
phase. These perturbations of the molecular environment lead intrinsically
to persistent separation of charge and therefore to an electrified solid-liquid
interface in soils.
The most important physical characteristic of an electrified interface is
its surface charge density. The concept of surface charge density was
introduced in Sec. 1.5 in the discussion of the surface density of intrinsic,
permanent structural, and net proton charge. These three surface charge
densities are related by the equation
(J.I)
79
where (Tin is the intrinsic surface charge density, (To the permanent
structural surface charge density, and (TH the net proton surface charge
density. Each term in Eq. 3.1 can be measured either in coulombs per
square meter or in moles of charge per square meter, and each can be
either positive or negative.
Besides the intrinsic surface charge density, two other components of the
density of surface charge on a soil particle can be defined. The surface
density of inner-sphere complex charge, (TIS, is equal to the net total surface
charge of the ions, other than H+ or OH- , that have formed inner-sphere
complexes with the surface functional groups in a soil. Examples of these
complexes were given in Figs. 1.8 and 1.9, where surface complexes
between vermiculite and K+ and between goethite and HPO~- are
illustrated. Other examples include the complex between Pb2+ and the
hydroxyl groups on alumina and that between Fe3+ and the carboxyl
groups on soil organic matter. 1 The generic term specific adsorption is
often used to describe the effects of inner-sphere surface complexation of
ions in the soil solution by surface functional groups on soil clays.
The surface density of outer-sphere complex charge, (Tos, is equal to the
net total surface charge of the ions that have formed outer-sphere
complexes with the surface functional groups in a soil. Examples of these
complexes are found in Figs. 1.8 and 1.10, where surface complexes
between Ca 2+ and montmorillonite and between Na + and kaolinite are
shown. Other typical examples are the complex between 0- and protonated aluminol groups and that between Mn2+ and carboxyl groups on soil
organic matter. 1 The generic term nonspecific adsorption can be applied to
outer-sphere surface complexation of ions by the functional groups exposed on soil clay particles.
With these additional definitions, the surface density of net total particle
charge can be expressed mathematically:
(Tp => (Tin
= (TO
(TIS
(TH
(TOS
(TIS
(Tos
(3.2)
Each of the terms on the right side of Eq. 3.2 can be either positive or
negative, but in general their sum will not equal zero despite the possibility
for cancellation. The balance of surface charge, as implied above, cannot
be expected to hold, in general, for only part of the interfacial region.
What is yet missing is the equivalent surface density of dissociated charge,
(To. This quantity is equal to minus the net total particle charge neutralized
by ions in the soil solution that have not formed complexes with surface
functional groups. These ions, whether positive or negative, are fully
dissociated from the surfaces of the solid particles in a soil and are free to
move about in the soil solution beyond the interfacial region. The balance
of surface charge can now be expressed by a combination of Eq. 3.2 and
(Tn:
('0
t-
('11
('" +
+ (T,S
('n = ()
(T( IS
+ (TI I
=: ()
(3.3a)
(3.3h)
80
F(AEC - CEC)
(3.5)
81
Name
Symbol
PZC a
PZNPC
PZSE
PZNC
Point
Point
Point
Point
of
of
of
of
zero
zero
zero
zero
charge
net proton charge
salt effect
net charge
Defining equation
= 0
UH = 0
(auH/alh = 0
UD
Uos
UD
=0
82
charge density, as pointed out in Sec. 1.5. Therefore, the PZNC can be
measured by the Schofield method" applied over a range of pH values. If it
is assumed that the reactant salt solution used to saturate the soil with the
two index ions can displace only the ions contributing to aos and aD, then
a nonoptimal value of ain is measured and the PZNC corresponds to the
condition aos + aD = 0 (Table 3.1). Otherwise, if it is known that the
reactant salt solution can displace even specifically adsorbed ions, then it is
appropriate to write
ars + aos + aD =
F(CEC - AEC)
S
(3.6)
instead of Eq. 3.4, and the optimal value of ain is measured. In this case,
the PZNC corresponds to the condition ain = O. The commonly measured
points of zero charge are illustrated in Fig. 3.1. 7
It is evident from Table 3.1 that the surface charge density conditions
that define points of zero charge are not the same and therefore that there
can be numerical differences among these pH values for the same soil
particles. The circumstances that permit equality among the points of
zero charge can be ascertained directly, however, through an appeal to
the charge conservation law in Eq. 3.3. Consider as a simple case the
possibility of equality between the PZC and the PZNPC. According to
Table 3.1 and Eq. 3.3b, this possibility is realized when the equation
ao
+ ars +
aos = 0
(3.7)
83
>
rVI
c>
.:<:
(\J
ex>
0
><
pH
-I
::l
-2
GOETHITE
0.015 M NaCI04
BAR-YOSEF et al. (1975)
Y- AI203
10-3M NaCI
HUANG AND STUMM (1973)
4
-60
rc>
-20
40
KAOLINITE
FERRIS AND JEPSON (1975)
.:<:
u
0
E
c>
0"
.:<:
HYDROXYAPATITE
BELL et ol. (l973l
>-
Z
0"
pH
KCI
'"
o
1M
O.IM
O.OIM
11.0
the cation and the anion form only outer-sphere surface complexes. This
condition appears to be met approximately for birnessite and kaolinite,
according to the data in the second and fifth columns of Table 3.2.
Equality between the PZC and the PZSE obtains if the equation
(O'IS
O'OS)11
(O'IS
0'0S)12
(3.8)
holds, where 11 and 12 refer to two different ionic strengths of the soil
solution. Equation 3.R is derived by applying Eq. 3.3b at each ionic
strength. noting the definitions in Table 3.1, and deleting Un because
84
Table 3.2. Comparison of points of zero charge for several solid phases suspended
in solutions of 1 : 1 electrolytes
Solid
PZC
PZNPC
PZSE
8.7
8.2 0.5
2.2 0.7
8.5
1.7
10
9.1
6.1
0.4
1
0.2
0.6
7.5 0.1
4.7
2.0 0.3
2.3 1.1
9.5
PZNC
1.9 0.5
9.1
7.7 0.2
8.4 0.1
7.3 0.2
8.5
7.6 0.2
4.8
2.9 0.9
Sources of data: Alon, c.-P. Huang and W. Stumm, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 43:409 (1973); S. Goldberg,
personal communication. Birnessite, L. S. Balistrieri and J. W. Murray, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta
46: 1041 (1982); R. M. McKenzie, Aust. J. Soil Res. 19:41 (1981). Calcite, G. A. Parks, in Chemical
Oceanography, Academic Press, London, 1975, Vol. Y, pp. 241-308; R. J. Hunter, Zeta Potential in
Colloid Science, Academic Press, New York, 1981, pp. 228ft. Corundum, S. Goldberg, personal
communication; R. J. Hunter, op. cit. Goethite, G. A. Parks, op. cit.; S. Goldberg, personal communication; T. L. Theis and R. O. Richter, Advan. Chem. Series 189: 73 (1980); L. S. Balistrieri and J. W.
Murray, Am. J. Sci. 281:788 (1981). Hematite, S. Goldberg, personal communication; A. Breeuwsma and
J. Lyklema, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 43:437 (1973). Hydroxyapatite, Bell et aI., J. Colloid Interface Sci.
42:250 (1973). Kaolinite, J. Baham, personal communication; A. P. Ferris and W. B. Jepson, J. Colloid
Interface Sci. 51:245 (1975). Quartz, R. J. Hunter, op. cit.
85
pzq
(3.10)
to hold at the PZC. If (TIS < 0 (specific anion adsorption), the value of (TH
will be larger than when no specific adsorption occurs and, since (TH
increases with proton activity, the PZC must shift downward relative to
that case. If (TIS> 0 (specific cation adsorption), the value of (TH at the
PZC will be smaller than when no specific adsorption occurs and the PZC
must shift upward. This kind of shift in the PZC is observed commonly in
soils. An example of the case (TIS < 0 (o-phosphate adsorption) is shown in
Fig. 3.2. 8
Should the swamping electrolyte solution contain an ion that can adsorb
specifically, matters change considerably as regards equality between the
PZC and the PZSE. In this case, Eq, 3.8 cannot hold unless (TIS has
reached a maximum value that remains invariant under a change in the
concentration of the specifically adsorbing ion. Otherwise, there must be a
different value of the PZC at every ionic strength of the swamping
electrolyte, and points of intersection of graphs of (TH versus pH cannot be
used to determine the PZC. If (TIS < 0 (specific anion adsorption),
Eq. 3.10 implies that (TH increases with increasing ionic strength (which
decreases (TIS) and the PZSE shifts upward from the PZC determined
when (TIS = O. If (TIS> 0 (specific cation adsorption), the same line of
reasoning implies a downward shift of the PZSE. Note that these shifts are
opposite in sense of what occurs when the concentration of specifically
adsorbing ion is maintained constant while the ionic strength is changed.
This fact has led to some confusion about the expected effects of specific
adsorption on the PZC when the PZSE has been equated incorrectly to the
PZC in a suspension containing a specifically adsorbing, swamping ion. 1 9
Figure 3.2. The downward shift of the PZSE for an Oxisol soil (Typic Torrox) in
response to the specific adsorption of o-phosphate."
MOLOKAI s.C.1.
OM PHOSPHATE
:r
cr
I
:r
cr
MOLOKAI s.c.I,
0.0156 M PHOSPHATE
~
1M
0 0.1 I!!
O.OIM
0 0.001 I!!
86
(TOS
(TD
= 0
(pH = PZNPC)
(3.11)
Equation 3.11 does not contain (TIS because inner-sphere surface complexes are assumed to be absent, in accordance with rule 1.
At the PZNC, on the other hand, Eq. 3.3b and Table 3.1 lead to the
charge-balance expression
(pH
= PZNC)
(3.12)
It should be noted that the relation between the sign of (To and that of
PZNPC - PZNC does not depend on equality between the PZC and the
PZNC but only on the condition that (Trs = o.
87
Suppose now that Eq. 3.4 applies in addition to Eq. 3.11. The combination of these two equations then produces the expression
F(CEC - AEC)
0"0
+=0
(3.13)
PZC)
(3.14)
:A
O"DBSB( 1
:A)
=0
O"DBSB
----==-=--(TDBnB -
(pH = PZC)
(3.15)
O"DASA
88
surface charge density, lTo (at fixed ionic strength), has been measured for
each as a function of pH value, then the value of W A corresponding to each
pH value in the measured domain can be calculated with Eq. 3.15. These
pH values can be equated to the PZC corresponding to the calculated W A'
For example, if at pH 6 the product lTOASA is equal to -0.02 mol.kg"! and
lTOBSB is equal to +0.18 mol.kg", then, according to Eq. 3.12, pH 6 is
the PZC of a mixture containing a mass fraction of 0.9 for component
solid A. As a general rule, Eq. 3.12 does not lead to a linear relationship between the PZC and WAY Thus the PZC of a mixture cannot be
predicted by a simple linear interpolation between the PZC of component
B and that of component A as W A increases from 0 to 1. For a soil
comprising several constituent minerals in the clay fraction, no linear
relation between the soil PZC and the PZC of the constituent minerals is
expected.
3.3. POTENTIALS NEAR AN ELECTRIFIED INTERFACE
Ag;AgCl
NaX(s),NaCI(aq)
R
NaCI(aq)
solution
AgCI;Ag
89
-FE
90
emf developed across a pair of electrodes that behave reversibly toward the
charged species. Clearly, the derivation of Eq. 3.18 can be carried through
for any charged species in two different aqueous systems by using
electrodes that behave reversibly toward the species. The corresponding
general result for the electrochemical potential difference is
ZiFE
(3.19b)
(3.20)
flsO
su JLCI
= /:
so .so
p.21)
91
The left side of Eq. 3.21 is well defined and measurable, as indicated in
Eq. 3.19a. The right side of Eq. 3.21 contains the difference between go
for 0- in the two aqueous systems, the ratio of the activities of 0-, and
the Donnan potential difference cPso - cPsu. These three quantities have
physical meaning if it is possible to measure any two of them unambiguously, i.e., without making unverifiable assumptions about the nature of
the two aqueous systems. Unfortunately, no experimental method exists
that can determine even ratios of single-ion activities without making
unverifiable extrathermodynamic assumptions. Moreover, no experimental technique exists for an unambiguous measurement of the difference
in go values for two phases of different chemical composition, and no
electrode assembly can measure a Donnan potential difference without
the data being interpreted through unverifiable extrathermodynamic
assumptions. 12 It follows that, in this case, the partitioning of the right side
of Eq. 3.21 has no physical significance.
Suppose that there is good reason to believe that all of the chloride in the
suspension diagramed below Eq, 3.16 is in dissolved form and therefore
that the Standard State of Cl" is the same in the suspension and the
aqueous solution. In addition, suppose that equilibrium exists with respect
to the transfer of chloride between the two aqueous systems. Then
Eq. 3.21 can be reduced to the expression
cPsu - cPso = -RT In ~msu~
-l'
m so
RT In [Ysu]
+ -l'
Yso
(3.22)
92
Interface
type
Polarizable
Ions traverse
freely?
Equilibrium
condition
Equivalent
circuit
No
Rt
Reversible
Yes
oo
93
94
..a.1?p.E~~Ug"J)!j!l.~h!~~tl!l...~~.21!!~~Ou~lillE!J2h~.i1"ler~,e~t~!1..!!~!r.
l~,.it!:~~J!.~!!!;,~;,!'}!'r:.. The fundamental physical assumptions on which the
~!~~~~~~~~~~~~~2*~'m~: i;,jf~~~t~w~~f!A~~f~~~~
particle; beyond the plane out into the liquid phase, the liquid moves
relative to the solid particle because of the shearing stress it experiences.
This relative motion perturbs the interfacial region in a manner that one
assumes can be described through the simultaneous application of the
Poisson equation in classical electrostatics and the Navier-Stokes equation
in fluid mechanics.l" Alternatively, one can formulate a description of
electrokinetic phenomena as an application of methods in the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, with no appeal made to specific models of
the interfacial region."? With this approach, of course, detailed information about the molecular properties of an electrified interface cannot be
obtained from an analysis of electrokinetic data.
For soil clay particles, it is often the case that the radius of curvature of
any patch on the particle surface is very much larger than the mean thickness of the interfacial region extending into the soil solution. A perfectly
flat clay particle surface meets this condition exactly, for example, because its radius of curvature is infinite by definition. In this case, the general
description of electrokinetic phenomena in terms of electrostatics and fluid
mechanics is made simpler because there is no perturbation of the interfacial
region except along the direction normal to the particle surface and no distortion of the ion swarm in the liquid phase except that produced by the
charge on the particle before the plane of shear came into being.J" With
SOLID
SURFACE
95
these two physical conditions in mind, one can define an inner potential in
the mobile liquid phase near the solid particle through the Poisson
equation:
d ( soD dljJ)
dx
dx = - p(x)
(x
:2:
d)
(3.26)
where ljJ(x) is the inner potential, p(x) is the volumetric charge density
(coulombs per square meter), and the other symbols are as defined in
connection with Eq. 1.11. As indicated in Fig. 3.3, the coordinate x is
measured from the solid particle surface out into the liquid phase. The
inner potential, ljJ, is subject to the constraints
ljJ(b)
=0
(3.27)
and
where b ~ d is a point in the mobile liquid phase that is far from the plane
of shear located at x = d. Equations 3.26 and 3.27 must be regarded as
model definitions of the inner potential since ljJ(x) cannot be measured by
any model-independent technique.
The other dependent variable of interest is the liquid velocity, V,(x) ,
defined to be a solution of a linearized form of the Navier-Stokes equation:
dP
d ( dVl)
f(x) - dz + dx T/ dx
=0
(x
> d)
(3.28)
where P is the pressure applied to the liquid, f(x) is the external force per
unit volume applied to it, and T/ is its coefficient of viscosity. Equation 3.28
is a mathematical expression of the balance of forces on a differential
element of the liquid under steady-state conditions. The liquid velocity is
subject to the constraints
(3.29a)
and
dV')
( -dx x=b =0
(3.29b)
where U is the velocity in the mobile liquid phase, measured relative to the
particle surface, at a point x = b far from the plane of shear.
The net electric current I, which under steady-state conditions, is
produced by the convection of charged species in the mobile region of the
liquid phase, can be expressed mathematically with the equation
I =
JJ: p(x)vl(x)dxdy .
(3.30)
where frlJl is just the net electric current density through an element of
cross-sectional area dxdy. The mean-value theorem of integral calculus and
96
=u
If:
Ir
p(x)dxdy
VI(b)
JJ:
p(x)dxdy
(3.31)
p(x)dxdy
The first step in Eq. 3.32 is the result of substituting Eq. 3.26 into
Eq. 3.30; the second step is an integration by parts; the third step makes
use of Eqs. 3.27 and 3.29a and invokes the assumption that the mobile
liquid phase is a homogeneous dielectric medium; the fourth step is
another integration by parts; the fifth step is the result of Eqs. 3.27 and
3.28 along with the assumption that the mobile liquid phase has a uniform
viscosity coefficient; the sixth step involves the identity
d(dljl)
dx
== dZIjIz dx
dx
and the use of Eq. 3.27; and the last step requires Eq. 3.28 again. !he
'&lY~.QfJl:teJ!1.I.!.~!..E9telltiaJ
. at.1Q~ pl~I!~ gf shear i~ denoted by , ill.Eq, .~, ~~
and is called the zeta. potential of the interface.' . . .To the extent that the liquid phase retains bulk dielectric characteristics
outside the region enclosed by the plane of shear. Eqs. 3.31 and 3.32 lead
97
II:
p(x)dxdy =
_eo~(
II: [1 -
o/i)] [f(X) -
~~]dXdY
(3.33)
The mean value theorem can be applied to the right side of this equation in
the same manner as in Eq. 3.31 with the quantity [1 - (o/(x)/()] taken
outside the integral sign. The quantity equals unity when x = b and zero
when x = d. Therefore, Eq. 3.33 reduces to
U
[b
f Ja p(x)dxdy =
e D(
-~
ffba' [f(x)
dPJ
- dz dxdy
(3.34)
;;o~~~t:L1g~;~~iH~elrU;~s~;:~li~;~~~!*~~~~~~i~a~~~:T~)~
[b
Jd
p(x)dxdy =
e D(
I[b
-~ E Jd p(x)dxdy
U = 6 oD(E
T1
(3.36)
98
(3.37)
TJ
!Jr
(3.38)
where
sgn()
+1
= { -1
if
if
c> 0
0
and the other symbols (except have the same meaning as in Eq. 1.11. If
it is further assumed that the plane of shear is located at the outer
periphery of the outermost surface complexes on the soil particle, then
a, = -aD and Eq. 3.38 becomes:
aD
/
f
(3.39)
The sum in Eq. 3.39 is over all charged species (with valence ZJ in the
mobile liquid phase. Equations 3.37 and 3.39 are the principal electrophoretic expressions applied to soil clay particles. Clearly, Eq. 3.37 is
dependent on fewer assumptions concerning the structure of the interfacial
region near a soil particle than is Eq. 3.39. However, the present
consensus/" is that the use of DDL theory to derive Eq. 3.39 is a valid step
for 1(' < 0.1 V and electrolyte concentrations below about 10 molom- 3
A sufficient theoretical basis for die use of electrophoresis to measure
the PZC, as discussed in Sec. 3.2, can be developed with Eq. 3.37 and the
single assumption that the plane of shear coincides with the periphery of
the surface complexes on a soil particle. Under this assumption, the
vanishing of aD at the PZC (Table 3.1) implies that the surface charge
density on the plane of shear vanishes as well. This condition and its
consequence, p(x) = 0, then must also obtain on any plane beyond the
plane of shear out into the mobile liquid phase, but Eqs. 1.13 and 3.26
applied to these planes lead to the conclusion that the inner potential,
l/J(x), is equal to a constant everywhere in the mobile liquid phase. This
constant may be set equal to zero, from which it follows that, = 0 and that
u in Eq. 3.37 vanishes at the PZC, as illustrated in Fig. 3.1. Thus it is not
99
Source
Measurements
12
30
Low
34
-2.2 0.3
-3.1 0.2
-4.4 0.5
100
Iu,1
0~04
(3.40)
u,
u,
u,
WYOMING BENTONITE
0.1% (w/v) SUSPENSION
BAR-ON ET AL. (1970)
>
I
-1.0
<n
(\J
CXl
-2.0
- 3.0
I
o
I...-_ _
0.2~
"-_-"""---~
O.~O
0.7~
1.0
101
a,
a,
UE O
fI
p(x)dxdy
-eoD(E fIb
T/
p(x)dxdy
-eoD(E
= _.::.-.::.-
(3.41)
T/
a,
102
AeoD( dP
Tf
(3.42a)
dz
where A is the cross-sectional area of the mobile liquid phase perpendicular to the direction of the current. The streaming potential gradient
induced by I when it is not shunted is defined by the equation (without the
usual minus sign because the liquid phase is moving)
I
= AK dVst
(3.42b)
dz
(3.43)
103
the result with Eq. 3.42, one can derive the symmetric relationship
r;
Q
_.::..:..--=dl'[tiz
(3.44)
o=
o=
LEY -
dP
dz
dC
L YD dz
+ LED
dC
dz
dV
LYE dz
+ LE
dV
dz
104
where the L coefficients are constant parameters that characterize the soil
clay-electrolyte solution mixture and C is the electrolyte concentration.
The first equation describes the flow of water through the clay layer, and
the second describes the electric current through the clay. The coefficient
LYE is equivalent to the coefficient of -E in Eq. 3.41; the coefficient LEY is
equivalent to the coefficient of A df/dz in Eq. 3.42a. The equality
LYE = LYE is another way of expressing the reciprocity in Eq. 3.45.
When a soil particle bearing an electrified interface settles in an aqueous solution under the force of gravity, a
plane of shear develops around the particle just as it does in electrophoresis. As the particle settles, the portion of the interfacial region
enclosed by the plane of shear moves with it but the remainder is left
behind, and this separation of interfacial charge gives rise to an e ctric
potential difference called the sedimentation potential. For a suspension 0
soil particles that do dot interact with one another (i.e., that settle
independently), the force per unit volume acting on the particles is
THE SEDIMENTATION POTENTIAL.
[(x) = -cPdpg
(3.46)
1=
-soD
,AcPdpg
(3.47)
T/
A definition exactly analogous to Eq. 3.42b can be given for the gradient of
the sedimentation potential, with the result that Eq. 3.47 is transformed to
the expression
(3.48)
(In this case, a minus sign is included in the relation between I and
dVsed / dz because it is the liquid phase that does not move. Therefore, no
minus sign appears in Eq. 3.48.) Equation 3.48 predicts that the gradient
of sedimentation potential has the same sign as , and is proportional to cPo
These predictions have been verified experimentally for a variety of
colloids.i" but apparently no study has been done on soil clay particles. It
may be noted in passing that Eq. 3.48 applies equally to particles undergoing centrifugation if g is replaced by the centrifugal acceleration. Since
centrifugal accelerations acheived in laboratory studies of ion adsorption
phenomena on soil clays often are tens of thousands of times larger than g,
the gradients of Vied generated can be very large. It is possible that these
potential gradients and the concomitant shearing away of part of the ion
105
swarm can significantly alter the ion distribution in the interfacial region. If
this disruption occurs, centrifugation may introduce an artifact into the
measurement of ion adsorption.
Several general aspects of electrokinetic phenomena, as summarized in
Eqs. 3.36, 3.41, 3.43, and 3.48, should be emphasized at this juncture.
First, since ( is an inner potential, it cannot be measured directly. It can
only be inferred from electrokinetic data through model-dependent equations. The fact that values of ( calculated from the results of different
electrokinetic experiments on the same interface are in agreemenr'" does
not demonstrate an objective existence of the zeta potential because all the
experiments are described by the same general equation (Eq. 3.34).
Second, electrokinetic data can be given molecular significance through the
zeta potential simply by assuming the existence of a plane of shear and the
applicability of the Poisson and Navier-Stokes equations. Diffuse double
layer theory is not required. Therefore, electrokinetic data offer no direct
experimental support for the DDL assumptions. Even the assumption that
a definite plane of shear exists can be modified. Consider, for example,
electro-osmosis. This phenomenon is the result of an applied electric force
balanced by the viscous force under steady-state conditions (Eq. 3.28):
p(x)E
d (T/ dVl)
+ dx
dx = 0
(3.49a)
With the help of Eq. 3.26 this expression takes the form
E~(eoD:) = ~ (T/~l)
(3.49b)
A single integration of both sides of this equation and the evaluation of the
constant of integration with the help of Eqs. 3.27 and 3.29b give the
differential equation
dl/J
EeoD/
dx
This expression can be divided by
de,
T/dx
UEo = - eoE
(3.49c)
integrated:
{D
I T/
o
- dl/J
(3.49d)
where the boundary conditions in Eqs. 3.27 and 3.29 (with U = UE O ) have
been noted again. Equation 3.49d is a generalization of Eq. 3.41 to permit
D and T/ to be functions of the potential l/J (or of the coordinate x). The
observed electro-osmotic velocity, UE O , thus depends on the variability of
both the dielectric and the viscosity properties of the liquid phase. The
possibility that UE O results only from continuously variable D and 71,
without the existence of a plane of shear, is consistent with Eq, 3.49d':~o
----
106
where n, is total moles of ion i in the suspension per unit mass of solid, Mw
is total kilograms of water in the suspension per unit mass of solid, m, is the
molality of ion i in the supernatant solution, and S is the specific surface
area of the suspended solid. Thus rf w ) is the excess moles of the ion (per
unit area of suspended solid) relative to an aqueous solution containing M w
kilograms of water and the ion at molality m.. The chemical foundation of
the definition of the relative surface excess is examined in Sec. 4.1. For the
present discussion, it is sufficient to note that r}w) can be positive, zero, or
negative, in principle, and that the condition
(3.51)
107
containing the soil clay suspension is found to hold 0.6 kilogram of water
and 2.8 millimoles of CI per kilogram of clay. The supernatant solution in
contact with the suspension through a membrane permeable to water and
ions is 0.007 molal in chloride. Therefore, according to Eq. 3.50,
(w) _
-
r Cl
104
-2
mol-rn
= - 7 X 10- 8 mol-m F
and the chloride ion is said to be negatively adsorbed by the soil clay.
It must be emphasized that the definition of negative adsorption
epitomized by Eqs. 3.50 and 3.51 is strictly macroscopic and does not
depend in any way on the concepts of DDL theory applied in Sec. 1.4. If a
DDL theory interpretation of Eq. 3.50 is desired, it can be developed
through the definitions"
n, == ( ci(x)d 3x/m s
Jsu
u; ==
Pw (
Jsu
d 3x / m s
(3.52a)
(3.53b)
where Ci(X) is the concentration (moles per unit volume) of ion i in the
aqueous solution portion of a suspension containing m; kilograms of soil
clay, Pw is the mass density of water in the suspension, and the integrals
extend over the entire suspension volume. Under the assumption that
Pwmi = Ci'" (the concentration of ion i in the supernatant solution),
Eqs. 3.50 and 3.52 can be combined to produce
r~w) =
Sl ( [c;(x) - ci",]d 3x
m; Jsu
(3.53)
sr(w)/c
i
ioo
(3.54)
Equation 3.54 can be interpreted on the molecular level with the help of
Eq.3.53:
(3.55)
In conventional DDL theory applied to an electrolyte solution bathing
solid particles with planar surfaces, Eq. 3.55 simplifies to
VC K = SE
L'" [1 - c~~:)] dx
(3.56)
108
where x = 8 defines the plane where the ion swarm is in contact with solid
particle and SE is the surface area of this plane divided by m.. Equation 3.56 can be developed further in DDL theory as indicated following Eq. 1.10. None of this development is necessary to the experimental
description of negative adsorption, of course. That description depends
only on Eqs. 3.50 and 3.51.
As with electrokinetic phenomena, the existence of negative adsorption
implies the existence of an electrified interface. The behavior of this
interface toward charged particles can always be investigated with the help
of a particular molecular model, such as DDL theory, but it is useful to see
how much information can be obtained without a detailed model, in
keeping wih the spirit of the previous sections in this chapter. Consider, for
example, the application of thermodynamics to the prototypical twochamber.experiment on negative adsorption. If the very small osmotic
pressure created by the suspended soil clay is neglected, the activity of any
electrolyte in the two chambers is the same in both the suspension and the
supernatant solution: 14
(MaLb)su = (MaLb)so
(3.57)
==
(mM mt)1/(a+b)
(3.59)
and mi. being the total molalities of the metal M and ligand L.
Equation 3.58 is an exact result in thermodynamics, but it cannot be used
to characterize negative adsorption without making some kind of assumption as to the nature of m";:.
Suppose that M = Na, a = 1, L = CI, and b = 1 in Eq. 3.57. Suppose
further that both Na + and Cl" are dissociated fully from the soil clay
particles in the suspension and that the only important contribution to up is
a negative uo, the surface density of structural charge. These conditions
apply reasonably well to a suspension of montmorillonite clay particles in a
dilute solution of NaCl at pH 7.0.32 In this case, it is possible to write the
following relationship between m~a and mel:
mM
su
mNa
su
mCi -
uoSm s
FM
36Oa)
where -uoS/ F represents the cation exchange capacity of the soil clay
particles. In the suspension, it is possible that the contributions of Na of and
Cl" to
'Y~u
109
uosms) = m 2
FMw
(3.61)
r CI(w)
_
-
Mw(m~
- m)
---''-'-'-:':'''_--'-
Sm;
(3.62)
Q==
Mw
-uoSm s
FMw
(3.63)
(11m + m)(l1m + m + Q) = m 2
The solution of this quadratic equation is
.::1m
(3.64)
where the positive square root is chosen because 11m must vanish with both
m and Q. Eq. 3.64 shows that, as m increases, 11m decreases from 0 to
the asymptotic value -tQ = uoSmsl2FMw . The asymptotic result can be
derived by writing
(tQ2 + m 2)1 /2 = m[1 + (Q/2mf]1 / 2
in Eq. 3.64 and noting that this term approaches m as m becomes
arbitrarily large. Therefore,
lim
mtoo
rCl(w) =
Mw lim 11m =
Smsmt oo
(3.65)
Na
= Mw
(m~a - m)
Sm
(3.66)
110
r(w)
CI
-(T
= __
0
(3.67)
NOTES
1. G. Sposito, The operational definition of the zero point of charge in soils, Soil
Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45: 292 (1981).
2. These kinds of experiments are described in A. M. James, Electrophoresis of
particles in suspension, Surface and Colloid Science 11:121 (1979).
3. Speciation models for aqueous solutions are discussed in Chap. 3 of
G. Sposito, The Thermodynamics of Soil Solutions. Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1981.
4. See, e.g., D. H. Everett, Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units. Appendix II: Definitions, Terminology and
Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry. Butterworths, London, 1972. When
the PZC is measured by an electrokinetic experiment (Sec. 3.4), it is often
termed an isoelectric point (IEP). However, other definitions of the IEP are
used in the soil chemistry literature. 1
5. See, e.g., Chap. 6 in R. J. Hunter, Zeta Potential in Colloid Science.
Academic Press, London, 1981.
6. Methods for measuring the PZSE and the PZNC in soils are discussed in
Chap. 6 of G. Uehara and G. Gillman, The Mineralogy, Chemistry, and
Physics of Tropical Soils with Variable Charge Clays. Westview Press, Boulder,
Colo., 1981.
7. Sources of data: c.-P. Huang and W. Stumm, Specific adsorption of cations
on hydrous y-Al z0 3 , J. Colloid Interface Sci. 43:409 (1973). B. Bar-Yosef,
A. M. Posner, and J. P. Quirk, Zinc adsorption and diffusion in goethite
pastes, J. Soil Sci. 26: 1 (1975). L. C Bell, A. M. Posner, and J. P. Quirk,
The point of zero charge of hydroxyapatite and fluorapatite in aqueous
solutions, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 42: 250 (1973). A. P. Ferris and
W. B. Jepson, The exchange capacities of kaolinite and the preparation of
homoionic clays, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 51:245 (1975).
8. S. S. Wann and G. Uehara, Surface charge manipulation of constant surface
potential soil colloids. I: Relation to sorbed phosphorus, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.
42:~6~ (1978).
111
112
,:'
'\
,\
4
INORGANIC AND ORGANIC
SOLUTE ADSORPTION IN SOILS
~.-_----
. 0 .
reac
(4.1)
114
where n, and nj are the moles of i and j per unit mass of soil solids, Xi and Xj
are the mole fractions of i and j in the reactant fluid phase after it has been
separated from the soil, and S is the specific surface area of the soil solids.
(The mole fraction of a substance in a solution is the ratio of moles of the
substance in the solution to the total number of moles of all substances in
the solution.) This definition of relative surface excess assumes that neither
i nor j enters into the structure of the adsorbing soil solid phase. 1 Note that
r~j) can be either positive or negative because it describes a net accumulation. Also note that there is no adsorption of i when the condition
n, Xi
-=nj
Xj
(4.2)
The natural choice for j in Eq. 4.1 is the substance having the largest
concentration in the fluid phase from which a soil adsorbs the constituent i,
provided there is no significant competition between i and j for adsorbing
surface. If the reactant fluid phase is soil air, the reference substance
should be nitrogen gas; if it is the soil solution, the reference substance
should be liquid water. In the case of a soil adsorbing a vapor from air, it is
expected that the number of moles of nitrogen gas in the interstitial space
of the soil will be. negligible because of the low density of soil air. For
example, a cubic centimeter of soil with a porosity of 0.5 contains only
about 1.5 micromoles of (nonadsorbing) nitrogen gas but could contain 104
times as many moles of adsorbed water vapor. Thus nj in Eq. 4.1 can be
neglected with no loss of accuracy, and the relative surface excess can be
expressed by the equation
I', "'" ni
I
(4.4)
for any substance i adsorbed strongly by the soil particles. If nitrogen gas
itself, or some other weakly adsorbing vapor, is to be adsorbed by the soil
(e.g., to determine its specific surface area), then only that gas should be
present in the soil interstitial space and Eq. 4.4 is still the expression to use
to calculate the amount adsorbed since the number of moles of nonadsorbed gas in the soil will again be negligibly small. 1
In the case of a soil adsorbing a dissolved solute from an aqueous
solution, Eq. 4.1 can be reduced to
(4.5)
115
where M w is the mass of water in the soil per unit mass of soil solids (the
gravimetric water content) and m; is the molality of the adsorbing
substance i in the aqueous solution isolated from the soil after reaction.
The product Mwmj can be represented accurately by (JcJ Pb, where (Jis the
volumetric water content of the soil, Pb is its bulk density, and c, is the
molarity of i in the isolated aqueous solution phase. If the adsorption
reaction is initiated by immersing 1 kilogram of a soil into M T w kilograms
of water containing i at molality m?, then the law of conservation of mass
requires that
n, = m? M Tw
mj(M T w
Mw )
This condition can be introduced into Eq. 4.5 to derive the useful
expression
(4.6)
where Sm, == m? - m, is the change in molality caused by adsorption.
Equation 4.6 provides the theoretical basis for the common method of
measuring the amount adsorbed through chemical analysis of the aqueous
solution phase only. 2
Equation 4.5 represents the surface excess of substance i relative to an
aqueous solution that contains M w kilograms of water plus substance i at
molality m.. This surface excess is assigned to a surface at which there is no
net accumulation ofwater. If water in the interstitial space is not adsorbed
(in the sense defined in Chap. 2), then this surface can be taken as
congruent with the geometric boundaries of the adsorbing soil particles. If
some of the interstitial water is adsorbed, say, within the region bounded
by a surface 1.0 nm from the boundary of a soil particle, then the surface of
zero net accumulation of water could differ slightly from the soil particle
surface.
As a numerical example of the application of Eq. 4.5, consider a
montmorillonitic soil with a gravimetric water content of 0.6 kg kg- 1 and
from which 110 mmol of calcium per kilogram of soil has been extracted
after a brief reaction with an aqueous solution whose final calcium molality
was 5 x 10- 3 m. The specific surface area of the soil is 180 m2g- 1 . The
relative surface excess of calcium in the soil is then
w
r ()
Ca
= +0.594 JLmolm- 2
116
117
L -curve
S-curve
01
-'"
"0
E
E
01
-'"
"0
E
E
Anderson sandy
cloy loom
pH 6.2
25C
r = 0.02M.
Q.
0"
::>
0"
00
CUT (rnrnol
H-curve
0.60
150
C-curve
01
-'"
"0 0.40
E
E
"0
0"
01
Boomer loom
pH 7.0 25C
Il':l0.005M.
0.20
100
-'"
::l..
0"
50
Har-Barqan cloy
parathion adsorption
from hexane
50% RH hydration
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
Cdr (mmol m- 3)
40
118
C-curve isotherm, this time because the adsorbate can penetrate the
interlayer regions of quasicrystals, thereby creating new adsorbing surface
for itself. 5
T~ L-curve isotherm is by far the ~~~.ommonlyencountered in
the literature of soil chemistry. The mathematical description of this
isotherm almost invariably involves either the Langmuir equation or the
'0n Bemmelen-Freundlich equation." The Langmuir efl,:"atio~.has the form
q
bKc
1 + Kc
(4.7)
bK - Kq
(4.9)
~
to
s~ould be
+ "'''
Thus a graph of K d ~ainst q
a straight line with slope - K and an
x-intercept equal to b if the LanewJ,!ir ~QyatiQn is appli"able. An example
of this kind of graph was presented in Fig. 1.12.
Not uncommonly, it is observed that a graph of K d against q is a curve
convex to the q-axis instead of a straight line. An example of this kind of
graph is shown in Fig. 4.2 for phosphate adsorption by a clay loam soil. 8 If
the value of K d tends to a finite constant as q tends to zero and if K d
extrapolates to zero at some finite value of q , then the adsorption isotherm
can always be fit to a two-term series of Langmuir equations:"
II
q-
blKlc
b
+ 2K2c
1 + Klc 1 + K 2c
(4.10)
bKlK2 q
=0
(4.11)
ss,
--=
dq
(4.12)
119
P SORPTION
WATTS SOIL
t = 25 IC
0.8
II>
C'
.><
<,
c:
0.6
o
..:;,
o
II>
0.4
'"E
"0
INTERCEPT = a~1 I a II
~ 0.2
INTERCEPT=l3o
10
q (mmol PI kg soil)
Figure 4.2. A graph of the distribution coefficient against the amount adsorbed for
o-phosphate adsorption by a clay loam soil. 8 The parameters labeling the lines
through the data points are defined in Eqs, 4.13 and 4.14.
+ (adao)q
(q ~ 0)
"(4. 13a)
where
ao = blK I + b 2K2
al =
(4.13b)
(4. 13c)
-(bIKi + b 2KD
Thus the distribution coefficient is linear in q near the origin, with a slope
equal to al/aO' According to Eq. 4.13a, the x intercept of the linear
expression is a5llall, as indicated in Fig. 4.2. On the other hand, when K d
extrapolates to zero, q = b according to Eq. 4.11. Equation 4.12 can then
be used to demonstrate that
(q
b)
(4. 14a)
where
f30
= b = bl
+ b2
-b l
b2
{31 = - K1
K2
(4.14b)
(4. 14c)
120
Fig. 4.2, then the limiting slopes and the two x intercepts can be determined graphically. The values found can be substituted into Eqs. 4.13b,
4.13c, 4.14b and 4.14c to solve uniquely for the Langmuir parameters b 1 ,
K 1 , b z, and K Z 9
The van Bemmelen-Freundlich isothe!!!! equation ha.s the form
q = Ac f3
(4.15)
OO
()
m y
-00
exp(y)c
dy
1 + exp(y)c
(4.16)
where y = In K and m(y) is the weighting factor for the Langmuir term in
the integrand whose K parameter equals exp(y). This weighting factor is
subject to the constraint
b =
f~oo m(y)dy
(4.17)
f~oo f(x)5(x -
a)dx == f(a)
m(y)
where
b
mmax = 27T tan( 7Tf3/2) = m(Ym)
Ym =
In (A/b)
f3
(4.19)
(4.20)
121
Ac 13
1 + (A/b)c13
(0 < (3 < 1)
(4.21)
(4.22)
follows from letting {3 approach unity in Eq. 4.18. As shown in Fig. 4.3,
the closer {3 is to zero, the broader is the distribution m (y ); the closer (3 is
to unity, the more m(y) approaches the delta function centered on Ym'
given in Eq. 4.22. In this limit, the introduction of the right side of
Eq. 4.22 into Eq. 4.16 reduces Eq. 4.16 to Eq. 4.7, the Langmuir equation, since the distribution is now just an extremely sharp-peaked spike
at Ym = In(A/b) == In K.
The weighting factor, m (y) in Eq. 4.18 can be calculated explicitly for
any soil if A, b, and (3 have been determined experimentally from
adsorption data. This estimation of parameters can be done by plotting log
Figure 4.3. A graph of the distribution of In K values, m(y) (y = In K), that leads
to the van Bemmelen-Freundlich isotherm: Each curve corresponds to the same
value of Ym but to different values of ~ in Eq. 4.18.
m(y)/b
{3 =0.9
"
,
x
t
................ ".
-'I
......................._....:.;-;.;1 ....
{3 = 0.8
{3-05
....,.,.:.:::.:-...:.......
---_
--
'1 m
.
+'1
122
q against log c for the range of concentrations over which Eq. 4.15 applies,
in order
c ulate log A and {3 from the y intercept and slope of the
resultin straigh ine. Then the variable q / c(3 is plotted against q to
defermine the value f A / b according to the expression
q/c(3 = A - (A/b)q
which is derived from Eq. 4.21 after both sides are multiplied by
c- (3 + (A / b) and the ratio q / c(3 is solved for. The x intercept for the linear
plot equals the parameter b. These operations emphasize the point that the
van Bemmelen-Freundlich equation applies strictly to adsorption data
obtained for low values of c.
4.2. ADSORPTION VERSUS PRECIPITATION
'I
\,
:1
,
,j,
I
,I
123
applies to the amorphous solid phase, where AIT and P0 4T are the total
molar concentrations of aluminum and o-phosphate in the soil solution. If
n AI is the total number of moles of aluminum in the soil available to react
with added o-phosphate, then it is reasonable to expect that the following
inequality holds:
(4.23)
where V w is the volume of soil solution in cubic decimeters. Further, if the
concentration of added o-phosphate is large enough to convert most of the
available "reactive" aluminum in the soil to aluminum phosphate, then
(4.24)
where n AlPO. is the number of moles of phosphate precipitated. With the
definitions
qpo. = b po . ( 1 - AI V
nAI
The use of
definition
cKso
w)
(4.25a)
(4.26)
lead to the expression
(4.25b)
Finally, since
124
acco
the expression for cKso and the inequality 4.23, Eq. 4.25b can
De approxim ted closely with the inverse binomial expansion of the factor
in parentheses n the right side:
\.
b po 4P0
b po KP0 4T
QP04 = 1 + (1/ K
) = 1 / KP0 4T
4T
(4.25c)
Under the conditions described in Eqs. 4.23 and 4.24, the quantity of
a-phosphate precipitated is described by a Langmuir equation (Eq. 4.7)
even though surface reactions are not involved. Note that a graph of
nAJPO/P04T against nAJP04, based on the sorption data collected, leads to
a determination of nAl as the x intercept, in keeping with Eq. 4.9, and that
the "affinity parameter" K, calculated from the slope of a line cutting the
x axis, has no possible interpretation as a surface complexation equilibrium
constant. Instead, K is determined by the amount of reactive aluminum in
the soil, the soil water content, and cKso, as shown by Eq. 4.26. These
results have a direct bearing on batch sorption experiments designed with
relatively high concentrations of added a-phosphate as a means of estimating the maximum surface capacity of a soil for phosphate. If the added
phosphate is precipitated instead of adsorbed, Eq. 4.25 may apply and the
estimated capacity parameter has no particular relation with the phosphate-adsorbing surfaces in the soil.
The experimental observation that an ion activity product in a soil solution is
smaller than a corresponding solubility product constant provides no evidence
as to the actual mechanism of a sorption process in the soil.
lAP
= (Mm+)a(LI-)b
(4.27)
(Mm+)a (Ll-t
(MaLb(s))
(4.28)
(4.29)
In Eq. 4.28, M is a metal and L is a ligand that precipitate to form the solid
MaLb(s), ( ) is a thermodynamic activity, and a and b are stoichiometric
coefficients subject to the constraint of electroneutrality.P
am = bl
(4.30)
lAP
."
= (MaLh(s
(4.31)
and therefore that the relation between lAP and K." (at fixed temperature
125
(4.32)
where
(4.33)
is the activity the metal cation would have in the soil solution if MaLb(s)
were in the standard state with unit activity.
Equation 4.32 shows that (M'?") is reduced below (Mm+)o when
(MaLb(s)) is less than unity. As a numerical illustration of this idea,
consider a calcareous soil to which a wastewater containing cadmium has
been applied, with the result that a coprecipitate of CdC0 3(s) and
CaC0 3(s) forms. Measurements on the aqueous phase of the soil indicate
that (Cd2+) = 10- 6 . 5 and (HCO)) = 10- 3 at pH 7.6. Because K so =
10- 1 1.2 for the reaction
CdC03(s) = Cd2+(aq)
CO~-(aq)
,i
._____-n"
...
126
(CdC03(s))
= (Cd2+)o
_
= 10
The single fact that lAP = (Cd2+)(CO~-) = 10-12 . 2 is much smaller than
K so = 10-11.2 in this example cannot be used unambiguously to infer that
cadmium has been adsorbed by the soil. Both ~4so,rptiona9d precipitation
are consistent with an lAP diminished below the solubility product
constant for a possible solid phase.
The experimental observation that an ion activity product in a soil solution is
larger than a corresponding solubility product constant is not prima facie
evidence of precipitation.
in Eq. 4.29, the lAP can be larger than the corresponding solubility product constant for the solid if the activity of the solid is greater than unity
(Eq. 4.31). This circumstance occurs commonly when the precipitate
comprises particles whose radii are smaller than about 1 JLm. 16 The surface
energy of these very small particles is large enough to contribute importantly to the Gibbs energy of the precipitate and therefore to increase its
activity relative to that in the standard state, where the interfacial energy
component of the Gibbs energy is negligible by definition. On the other
hand, the simple condition of supersaturation, lAP/ K so > 1, is not sufficient. for the actual formation of a solid phase at a measurable rate. The
rate of homogeneous precipitation depends, for example, sensitively on
the degree of supersaturation such that, under circumstances typical of soil
solutions, solid formation requires geological time intervals if lAP/ K so is
smaller than about 20. 16 If nucleating agents are present in a soil, the rate
of heterogeneous precipitation from a supersaturated soil solution should
be large and the mechanism of sorption should be solid formation, not
adsorption. This mechanism is especially probable when solid phases that
are similar to the one expected are already present in a soil, as when
carbonate-forming trace metals are introduced at supersaturation levels
into the aqueous phase of a calcareous soil.
It should be clear at this point that classical thermodynamic methods
involving adsorption isotherm equations and the solubility product principle cannot distinguish adsorption from precipitation unambiguously. This
fact is just another illustration of the impossibility of inferring underlying
mechanisms from thermodynamic data on soils. Of course, a relatively
complete determination of the chemical composition of a soil solution after
sorption has occurred can provide useful circumstantial evidence. For
example, a measurement of the concentration of silicon in a soil solution is
essential if the sorption of an oxyanion by a soil is under investigation,
since the precipitation of an oxyanion through the incongruent dissolution
of aluminosilicates is accompanied by the release of silicon. As a general
~..
INORGANIC AND ORGANIC SOLUTE ADSORPTION IN SOILS
127
rule, the chemical analysis done after a sorption experiment with soil
should include all possible relevant elements in the soil solution, not just
the one that is the chief object of investigation.
J
Perhaps the best methods for demonstrating the existence of adsorption
in a soil are optical, magnetic resonance, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which give direct evidence for the presence of adsorbed species. These methods currently are under development for application
to soils extensive calibration with well-characterized, reference soil
minerals. is Until this calibration is completed, it is possible to use kinetics
data to make an operational distinction between adsorption and precipitation. This strictly empirical method of analyzing sorption data can be
illustrated with the important case of o-phosphate reactions.
It has been recognized for about 40 years that the reaction between
o-phosphate and soil exhibits rapid and slow stages.l" The rapid stage
almost invariably persists for less than 50 hours, and the slow stage
continues well beyond 50 days in many instances. No particular mechanism
of phosphate sorption can be inferred uniquely from the kinetics data that
show these two stages, but it is not unreasonable to suppose that, if the
initial concentration of phosphate in the soil solution is below supersaturation for any possible phosphate solid, the rapid stage corresponds
principally to adsorption. Besides the expectation that a surface reaction
should proceed quickly in the absence of diffusional barriers, supporting
evidence for this hypothesis comes from the fact that rapidly sorbed
phosphate is also readily desorbable.l?
On the other hand, a classification of a sorption process on the basis of
kinetics data must be conditioned by other chemical properties of thFphosphate-soil mixture. For example, if the soil solution is supersaturated
initially with respect to some phosphate solid, precipitation is likely to
influence the sorption reaction from the beginning.F" If the soil minerals
have a low degree of crystallinity and/or a high degree of hydration,
precipitation may be the dominant sorption mechanism even in the rapid
stage." In general, low phosphate concentrations and well-crystallized,
relatively unhydrated soil minerals tend to favor adsorption as the phosphate reaction mechanism. Other chemical properties, such as the pH
value of the soil solution and the kinds of metals in soil clay minerals, exert
a quantitative influence on the rapid stage of phosphate sorption, as do
such physical properties as temperature. 22
A large number of mathematical expressions have been applied to
describe the rate of phosphate sorption in soils, but no clear consensus on
which equations are most suitable has yet emerged. 22 ,23 There is at present
a growing use of the Elovich equation'" to represent the rapid stage:
dq
dt = k, exp( -k2q )
(4.34)
where q is the amount of phosphate sorbed per unit mass of dry soil and k,
and k2 are constant parameters. Although Eq. 4.34 can be derived from
128
t)
(4.35)
where
to =
exp(k 2 qc)
k
1k2
tc
(tc
>
0)
and qc is the value of q at time tc, the time at which the rate of sorption
begins to be described by Eq. 4.34. In most applications, tc is set equal to
zero and qc is the initial value of q in the soil. Equation 4.35 appears to
describe phosphate sorption by soils quite well for t < 200 hours.r" Some
evidence exists to suggest that, over this period, phosphate sorption
involves principally a multilayer adsorption mechanism, i.e., the formation
of metal phosphate coatings on the surfaces of soil particles.P This
hypothesis has the attractive feature that it is consistent with the ultimate
formation of a precipitate in the slow stage of phosphate sorption. The
latter appears to be described well by the linear rate law26
dP0 4T
dt
= - K P0 4T
4.36
The positive adsorption of metal cations by the solid phases in soil can
involve the formation of either inner-sphere or outer-sphere surface
complexes, or the simple accumulation of an ion swarm near the solid
surface without complex formation. These adsorption mechanisms are
implied in the development of the concept of surface charge balance
(Eq. 3.3) and were illustrated, for the case of surface complex formation,
in Figs. 1.8 and 1.10. The quantitative relationship between these mechanisms and measured surface excesses of metals on soil minerals is taken
up in Chap. S. In the present section, emphasis is placed on the qualitative
129
130
y = ---=::...;=
I Z +1
(4.37)
JZ
where I z is the ionization energy for a cation of valence Z and radius r. For
the Group IA cations, Z = 1 and the sequence of decreasing Y values is
Cs+(O.287) > Rb+(O.228) > K+(O.189) > Na+(O.lll) > Li+(O.053)
(4.38)
where Y is in units of nanometers. This sequence is identical with that of
decreasing stability of inner-sphere complexes formed with the siloxane
ditrigonal cavity through the elimination of solvation water molecules.
Figure 4.4 shows values of the standard Gibbs energy, ~G~x, at 298 K
for the reaction
LiX(s) + M+(aq)
= MX(s) + Li Taq)
(4.39)
Figure 4.4. The relation between the standard Gibbs energy for Li + - M+
exchange on montmorillonite and the Misono softness parameter ofM+ (M = Na,
K, Rb, CS).35
12
Cs+
Li+ - M+ EXCHANGE
ON MONTMORILLONITE
10
Camp Berteau
Wyoming
Rb+
10
0
'I;
'i,i,"
'I
~'I
':,/j
-'"
...J
OQl
.~
K+
I
' ,~
II
<.!l
'I
<J
',I
'I
I
',I
Na+
',I
0.05
0.10
YM+
0.15
- YL1+(nm)
0.20
0.25
III
132
1. The ligand has a high affinity for the metal and forms a soluble complex
with it, and this complex has a high affinity for the adsorbent.
133
Figure 4.5. A schematic diagram of interactions in an aqueous metal-ligandsurface system. The parameters K refer to equilibrium constants for reactions in the
direction of the arrows.
2. The ligand has a high affinity for the absorbent and is adsorbed, and the
adsorbed ligand has a high affinity for the metal.
3. The ligand has a high affinity for the metal and forms a soluble complex
with it, and this complex has a low affinity for the absorbent.
4. The ligand has a high affinity for the adsorbent and is adsorbed, and the
adsorbed ligand has a low affinity for the metal.
A fifth category could be the ligand that has a low affinity for both the
metal and the adsorbent and therefore little or no effect on trace metal
adsorntlOn (e.g., clu 4 at pH > PZC for the adsorbing solid). The four
main categories can be deduced from the overall scheme of metal-ligandsurface interactions depicted in Fig. 4.5, as shown in Table 4.1. The
scheme of interactions emphasizes the competition between the metal and
the adsorbent for the ligand. Categories 1 and 2 in Table 4.1 should result
in enhanced adsorption of the metal. If the ligand and metal do not interact
with the same surface functional groups, category 4 produces little effect on
metal adsorption; if there is competition, metal adsorption is reduced.
The model systems listed in Table 4.1 represent well-characterized
metal-ligand-adsorbent combinations whose observed behavior is consistent with at least one category of ligand effecta" On kaolinite, a sharp
Table 4.1. Categories of ligand effects on metal cation adsorption
Category
1
2
K ML K ML X large; K OM
K L X K M/ LX large; K OM
K ML large; KMl. X small
K L X K Il M
large;
KM/LX
K OL small
KOL small
small
134
= a + bpH
(4.40)
_/sorb
D -- K d C --
(4.41)
In D
where
Isoln
135
a-FeOOH
!AT =10-4M
O.IM KN03
8
120r-----,--,..-----,--,---,
Cu
Pb
Co
...
<,
'0
E 80
::l..
~
u
c
0=-3---:-----:----:---::-------:
8
pH
pH
Figure 4.6. The effect of increasing OH- activity on the adsorption of metal
cations by solid soil constituents."
-a
Moreover, after substituting fsorb/(l - fsorb) for D in Eq, 4.40, one can
derive the result
dflOrb)
= b
( dpH pH-pH", 4
(4.42)
136
(4.43a)
(4.43b)
or
137
Rutile in Co (N03)2
Fuerstenou et 01. (198()
Car
1.67 x 10- 3 M
>
l/)
C\J
-
E
00
1.67x1O:-5M
:J
-I
10
II
pH
Figure 4.7. The dependence of the electrophoretic mobility of rutile particles on
the pH value in solutions of Ca(N03h .46
138
+ H''{aq)
= SOH:t(s)
(4.44a)
(4.44b)
139
140
2000~
10'
oX
COO
PhOSPhat~
a-FeOOH
0
00
150
E
E
0
00
0
0
"0
Q)
.a 100
(ArSenate
AI(OH)3(am)
L-
(/)
"0
0
c:
0
MA
A At:A
50
c:
Borate~
<t
Fe(OH)3(am) -
10
12
pH
Figure 4.8. Adsorption evelopes for phosphate on goethite, arsenate on amorphous aluminium hydroxide, and borate on amorphous iron hydroxide. 56 The .
ordinate values should be multiplied by ten for the arsenate data.
2. The rate of 3Zp exchange between dissolved o-phosphate and phosphate adsorbed on goethite or gibbsite follows the Elovich equation
(Eq. 4.34).58 The parameter k z in Eq. 4.34 is observed to be a function
only of temperature, whereas k 1 depends on the temperature and a
fractional power of the proton concentration in the aqueous solution
phase. The latter parameter also includes a first-order rate dependence
on the concentration of phosphate surface complexes. The dependence
of k 1 on a fractional power of the proton concentration reflects the
effect of the protonation reaction in Eq. 4.44a, and the first-order
dependence on the adsorbed phosphate concentration is expected if
the rate-determining step in 3Zp exchange is the breaking of either the
metal-phosphate bond in an inner-sphere surface complex or the
metal-oxygen bond in the adsorbent. 58,59 Thus the kinetics data for 3Zp
exchange, like the pH effect on the maximal adsorption of phosphate,
are consistent with the ligand exchange mechanism.
3. The rate of hydroxyl exchange on -Cr-O, is known to be orders of
magnitude lower than that on goethite (a-FeOOH).6o The rate and
extent of nitrate adsorption by these two reference minerals in suspension are essentially the same, with equilibrium attained in minutes. This
fact suggests that nitrate adsorbs according to outer-sphere complex
formation (Eq. 4.44c), not ligand exchange (Eq. 4.44b). Sulfate
adsorption by the two minerals is also similar in rate and extent;
141
Table 4.2. Infrared absorption band centers for goethite, phosphated goethites, phosphate minerals, and
aqueous phosphate anions 61 ,6Z
Species
Goethite
Phosphated (H 3P04)
goethite (dry)
Phosphated (H 3P04)
goethite (wet)
Phosphated (Ca(HZP04)z)
goethite (dry)
Phosphated (Ca(HZP04)z)
goethite (wet)
(
Species
Strengite
(FeP0 4 2HzO)
Metastrengite
(FeP04 2HzO)
HZP04(aq)
HPO~-(aq)
PO~-(aq)
143
The complexes formed between the solid phases in soil and native organic
compounds in the soil solution are not yet well understood because the
~
(4.45)
144
145
Bb-(HzO)pMm +==
(4.46)
146
For polymeric organic solutes in soil solutions, the van der Waals
interaction with the atoms in a solid surface can be quite strong and
relatively long-range. The influence of this interaction in biopolymers, such
as proteins and carbohydrates, is believed to be the fundamental reason for
the very frequent appearance of Hstype adsorption isotherms when these
large molecules react with soil minerals.P" The effects of van der Waals
interactions are especially apparent when the ionic strength of the soil
solution is high enough to suppress the ionization of acidic functional
groups on large organic solute molecules or when the pH has been adjusted
to make the net charge on them vanish. (See Sec. 6.3.)
The adsorption mechanisms listed in Table 4.3 are expected to operate
when dissolved soil organic matter reacts with solid soil particles. Although
the structural chemistry of soluble organic matter in soils is not well
understood, certain generalizations concerning adsorption can be made on
the basis of studies in which the pH and surface characteristics of model
adsorbents have been varied systematically. One of the most important of
t!tese generalizations is that the quantity of dissolved organic matter
adsorbed tends to decrease as the pH increases above 4.0. 69 This fact
suggests that dissolved soil organic matter forms ligand-like surface
complexes, as described in Sec. 4.4 f~r inorganic ox~anions, and therefore
tJiat the Eredominant adsoq~tion mechanisms are those appropriate to
anions.
- The surfaces bearing charged siloxane ditrigonal cavities in soils reacts
with dissolved organic matter in two principal ways. First, the permanent,
negative surface charge produces a negative adsorption of the organic
matter that should become more pronounced as the pH value of the soil
solution increases and the organic matter becomes more anionic. Second,
carboxylate and phenolic hydroxyl groups in the organic matter particularly should form complexes with the siloxane ditrigonal cavities through
exchangeable cations in surface complexes with these cavities. These two
kinds of interaction oppose one another on the external surfaces of
quasicrystals or other aggregate units; no interlayer adsorption, negative or
positive, is involved. !!. the exchangeable cation is monovalent. the amoullt
of organic matter adsorbed increases as the Lewis acidsc;>ftness of tlJe
cation increases, indicating that the organic ligands involved are softer
Lewis bases than solvation wilter molecules and that cation bridging is
the main adsorption mechanism.F If the exchangeable cation is bivalent,
the amount of organic matter adsorbed increases as the ionic potential
of the cation increases, suggesting that weak protonation of the organic
ligands through water bridging is the principal adsorption mechanism,
since purely electrostatic interactions across a solvation shell should be
favored with cations of high ionic potential. 65 Cation bridging does not
seem likely in this case because there is no correlation between the amount
adsorbed and the Lewis acid softness of the exchangeable action.
The edge surfaces of soil phyllosilicates and the surfaces of metal
oxyhydroxides react with dissolved organic matter through the ligand
147
148
149
150
151
50. C.J.B. Mott, Anion and ligand exchange, in D. J. Greenland and M.H.B.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
152
63. A summary of the earlier studies with model compounds is in the classic review
by M. M. Mortland, Clay-organic complexes and interactions, Advan. Agron.
22: 75 (1970). See also D. J. Greenland, Interactions between humic and fulvic
acids and clays, Soil Sci. 111:34 (1971).
64. See, e.g., Chap. 7 in B.K.G. Theng, Formation and Properties of ClayPolymer Complexes. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1979.
65. See Chap. 12 of B.K.G. Theng, op. cit. ,64 and Clay-polymer interactions:
Summary and perspectives, Clays and Clay Minerals 30: 1 (1982).
66. R. L. Parfitt, A. R. Fraser, J. D. Russell, and V. C. Farmer, Adsorption on
hydrous oxides. II: Oxalate, benzoate and phosphate on gibbsite, J. Soil Sci.
28:40 (1977). R. L. Parfitt, A. R. Fraser, and V. C. Farmer, Adsorption on
hydrous oxides. III. Fulvic acid and humic acid on goethite, gibbsite, and
imogolite, J. Soil Sci. 28: 289 (1977). R. Kummert and W. Stumm, The surface
complexation of organic acids on hydrous a-AI2 0 3 , J. Colloid. Interface Sci.
75: 373 (1980). S. N. Yap, R. K. Mishra, S. Raghavan, and D. W. Fuerstenau,
The adsorpton of oleate from aqueous solution onto hematite, in P. H. Tewari,
op. cit/" J. A. Davis, Adsorption of natural dissolved organic matter at the
oxide/water interface, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 46: 2381 (1982).
67. See, e.g., S. Burchill et al., op. cit.2 pp. 325ff.
68. See, e.g., Chaps. 7 and 10 of B.K.G. Theng, op. cit.64
69. Chapter 12 in B.K.G. Theng, op. cit.64 J. A. Davis, op. cit.66 J. A. Davis, in
Vol. 2 of R. A. Baker, op. cit.48
70. P. Chassin, N. Nakaya, and B. Le Berre, Influence des substances hurniques
sur les proprietes des argiles. II. Adsorption des acides humiques et fulviques
par la montmorillonite, Clay Minerals 12: 261 (1977). R. L. Parfitt et aI.,
op. cit.66 K. R. Tate and B.K.G. Theng, Organic matter and its interactions
with inorganic soil constituents, in Soils with Variable Charge (B.K.G. Theng,
ed.) New Zealand Society of Soil Science, Lower Hutt, N.Z., 1980.
71. K. H. Tan, The catalytic decomposition of clay minerals by complex reaction
with humic and fulvic acid, Soil Sci. 120: 188 (1975). K. R. Tate and B.K.G.
. 70
Th eng, op. CIt.
153
5
CHEMICAL MODELS OF
SURFACE COMPLEXATION
155
mine ion size) and fluctuations of the true inner potential about its mean
value, l/J(x), it follows that these effects are neglected when the DDL
assumption
(5.2)
is invoked.
The limitations imposed on DDL theory as a molecular model by these
four basic assumptions have been discussed frequently and remain the
subject of current research.v? In Sees, 1.4 and 3.4 it is shown that DDL
theory provides a useful framework in which to interpret negative adsorption and electrokinetic experiments on soil clay particles. This fact suggests
that the several differences between DDL theory and an exact statistical
mechanical description of the behavior of ion swarms near soil particle
surfaces must compensate one another in some way, at least in certain
applications. Evidence supporting this conclusion is considered at the end
of the present section, whose principal objective is to trace out the broad
implications of Eq. 5.1 as a theory of the interfacial region. The approach
taken serves to develop an appreciation of the limitations of DDL theory
that emerge from the mathematical structure of the Poisson-Boltzmann
equation and from the requirement that its solutions be self-consistent in
their physical interpretation. The limitations of DDL theory presented in
this way lead naturally to the concept of surface complexation.
The surface charge density that accumulates in a plane lying at a distance
x from a soil particle surface along a normal extending into the soil solution
can be calculated with the equation!
u(x)
Jx
(5.3)
In Eq. 5.3, it is assumed that the concentration of each ion in the soil
solution achieves its "bulk value", c., well before another soil particle
surface is encountered along the x direction moving out from the origin of
spatial coordinates at x = O. Thus the distance separating soil particle
surfaces is assumed to be much larger than the domain over which l/J(x)
differs significantly from zero. 3 With this assumption, the upper limit of the
integral defining u(x) can be set at infinity and the boundary condition,
that the DDL potential and electric field intensity vanish at this upper
limit, can be applied.
The mathematical identity
2l/J
d(dl/J) == d 2 dx
dx
dx
(5.4a)
and Eq, 5.3 can be used to convert Eq. 5,1 to the differential equation
dl/J
u(x)
dx
enD
-=--
(5,5)
156
(5.4b)
The integration of Eq. 5.1 with respect to l/J from l/J((0) = 0 to l/J(x) yields
the differential equation
2
(5.6)
The square root of both sides of Eq. 5.6 can be taken under the convention
that the sign of the root is opposite to that of l/J(x). Then Eqs. 5.5 and 5.6
produce the expression
1/ 2
(5.7)
where
sgn( l/J)
+1
= { -1
l/J>O
l/J<O
}1/
according to Eq. 5.7. The solution of this equation to obtain l/J(x) permits
the calculation of O"(x) and the volumetric charge density,
p(x) =
(5.9)
These two charge densities and the inner potential provide a complete
description of the interfacial region according to DDL theory.
Equation 5.8 can be solved analytically in three special cases wherein the
aqueous solution phase contains a single strong electrolyte." These are the
symmetric electrolyte (e.g., NaCI0 4), the 2: 1 electrolyte, (e.g.,
Ca(CI04h ), and the 1: 2 electrolyte (e.g., Na2S04)' The mathematical
manipulations involved are simplified after the transformations
y Fl/J/RT
f3 2F 2/ F. oDRT
157
dy
(5.10)
where c., and Z+ refer to the cation and c: and Z_ refer to the anion in the
electrolyte. Equation 5.10 is the working DDL equation to be solved in the
three special cases. The particular forms of this equation are
dy
dx
= Co = c:
2: 1 electrolyte: Z+ = 2, Z_ = -1, C+
= Co, c:
(5.lIa)
== 2co
dy
dy
(5.lIc)
where K = J f3co and K' = J f3co. The solutions of these equations are
listed in Table 5.1. As an illustration of the method by which they are
obtained, consider Eq. 5.lIa. A separation of variables and the subsequent
integration of both sides of this equation yields the result
Y(X) eZy/2 dy
eZY - 1 =
1 iY(X)
2:
i Yo
csch(Zy/2)dy
Yo
.!.In[tanh(ZY(X)/4)]
Z
tanh (ZYo/4)
-K
J: dx' = -KX
where
cschu=
2
U
e - e
e" - e- u
tanh u = U
-u
e +e
and Yo ;& yeO). Upon rearranging this result to be an equation for ",(x), one
obtains
",(x) = 4 -RT tanh- 1(ae- Z.'<X)
ZF
(5.12)
158
electrolytes''
Electrolyte
Symmetric
2:1
l/J(x) =
(RTjF)ln[~ tanh
(V;
KX +
b) -~]
6b' exp(J3Kx) }
l/J(x) = (RTjF) In { 1 + [b' exp(J3Kx) - IF
.
(1 + 2eYO)1/2 + J3
With b' = (1 + 2eYO)1/2 _ J3' Yo = Fl/J(O)jRT
1:2
6c exp(J3K'X) }
l/J(x) = -(RTjF) In { 1 + [c exp(J3K'X) _ 1)2
.
(1 + 2e- YO)1/2 + J3
with c = (1 + 2e YO)1/2 _ J3' Yo = Fl/J(O)jRT
1:2
l/J(x)
-(RTjF)
In[~ tanh
(1
K'X +
C') -~]
I<
has been used. The inverse hyperbolic tangent has the MacLaurin expansion
u3
tanh-1u = u + - + ...
3
which, for large values of the distance x (i.e., ZKX
to be replaced by the approximation
RT
r/1(x) == 4 ZF a exp( - ZKX)
(5.14)
Equation 5.14 shows that the DOL inner potential decreases exponentially
159
1]f/2 (5.15)
according to Eq. 5.7. The special case of Eq. 5.15 that occurs when x is the
was presented
position of the electrokinetic plane of shear (and ",(x) =
in Eq. 3.39. Equation 1.11, which figures in the DDL model of negative
anion adsorption, can be derived from Eq. 5.15 under the assumptions that
the soil solution contains only a 1: 1 electrolyte and that the diffuse ion
swarm comes into contact with a soil particle in the plane x = 8. The
explicit x dependence of 0'0 is then
-8FK
O'o(x)
= f3
a exp( -KX)
1 _ a2 exp( -2KX)
(x
= 8)
(5.16)
160
3~
I: I ELECTROLYTE
Co =100 mol m- 3
CT =-0.266C m- 2
3
0
o
C\J
<,
<,
Q.. 2
~
0
0
0
0
Q... 2
CATIONS
<,
CATIONS
2:1 ELECTROLYTE
c 0 =50molm- 3
CT =-0.177C m- 2
0
0
<,
Q..
10
15
x/d {d=0.425nm}
20
1
0'
ANIONS.
x/d {d=0.425nm}
Ylpre 5.1. Graphs of the component volumetric charge densities, p+(x) and p_(x), based on Monte Carlo computer simulation (data
points) and DDL theory (solid lines)."
162
by the computer simulation and the values of the volumetric charge density
components,
p+(x) = coexp(-FIjJ(x)jRT)
p_(x) = coexp(FIjJ(x)jRT)
(5.17)
calculated for Co = 100 mol-rn"? at 298 K with the help of Eq. 5.12 ..
At this low concentration, the errors inherent in Eq. 5.1 appear to be mutually compensating.f At higher concentrations (e.g., Co = 103 mol, m- 3 ) ,
the computer simulation results deviate significantly from the predictions
of Eq. 5.17, in that DDL theory underestimates the extent of negative
anion adsorption and fails to reproduce the oscillation in p + (x) produced
by fluctuations in the true electric potential about its mean value, ljJ(x). 7
For the 2: 1 electrolyte, these inadequacies of DDL theory are apparent
even at Co = 50 mol-rn ":', as shown in Fig. 5.1. In this case, the DDL
model predictions of ion distribution have only qualitative significance,
even when corrected for finite ion size by restricting them to the region
x > dj2, where d is the ionic diameter. The results of computer simulation
indicate that the Poisson-Boltzmann equation does not provide an accurate
description of ion swarms containing bivalent species."
".
.!
"
163
ions, the surface complexation models attempt to give quantitative meaning to the terms (TIS and (T as in the balance of surface charge through
predictions of the speciation of surface-complexed ions. The combination of these two models then leads to a computer-based algorithm for the
estimation of adsorption isotherms and related surface chemical data."
The fundamental molecular attributes of the leading surface complexation models can be revealed by pursuing a statistical mechanical description
of the chemical system introduced in the first paragraph. Recall that
statistical mechanics is the branch of physical chemistry that applies the
concepts of probability to interpret the behavior of matter in stable
states. 10 For the present discussion, the relevant probability postulate from
statistical mechanics is embodied in the Gibbs factor for a single molecular
system:
P(system)
Q exp(Np,/ k B T)
(5.18)
where N is the number of molecules in the system, each of which has the
chemical potential (per molecule) u: kB = 1.38054 X 10- 23 J. K- 1 is the
Boltzmann constant; T is absolute temperature, and Q is the partition
function for the system. The partition function can be viewed as the
relative probability that the system is in any of the numerous states of
differing energy available to it, whereas the Gibbs factor, P(system) ,
represents the relative probability that the system exists with N identical
molecules in any of these states.l" Thus P(system) is interpreted as the
relative likelihood of observing a chemical system in equilibrium with a
thermal reservoir, at temperature T, that regulates the internal energy,
and with a matter reservoir, at chemical potential p" that regulates the
number of molecules. When the chemical system is an array of surface
complexes, the matter reservoir is just the contiguous aqueous solution
phase that contains the adsorptive ions.
Suppose that the surface complexes and the remaining uncomplexed
surface functional groups in the prototypical chemical system under
consideration do not interact with one another, except "geometrically"
through the constraints
= N SR + NSR'c
zNSR
2Nc c + NRC = zNSR'c
M
2NR R + NRC =
(5.19a)
(5.19b)
164
QSR'C
exp(P-c/ kBT)
(5.20b)
QSR
exp(P-R/kBT) +
QSR'C
exp(p-c/kBT) (5.21)
The function {(T, P- R ,p-c) provides the basis for calculating any property
of the system comprising M independent surface functional groups.
If the surface functional group on a solid particle is electrically charged
(e.g., the siloxane ditrigonal cavity on montmorillonite), or if an innersphere surface complex formed on it bears a net charge (e.g., a phosphate
anion complexed on goethite), it is not reasonable to assume no interactions among the surface species. The same conclusion applies to any
outer-sphere surface complex as well, since the mere physical separation of
a complexed, charged species (e.g., a metal cation) from an ionized
functional group (e.g., a dissociated surface hydroxyl) leads to a nonvanishing resultant electric field, even in the case of a neutral complex. At
the very least, one expects that relatively long-range, although partially
screened, coulomb forces will operate among charged functional groups Or
complexes on a surface, just as they do in an aqueous solution phase.
These electric forces can be envisioned, in a first approximation, to be of a
nonspecific character that produces a kind of background potential field
that mediates the interactions among the surface species. Taking the
simplest case, one can estimate the strength of the background potential by
the product of the average number of like nearest neighbors of a central
surface species and the average energy of interaction between the central
species and one of its neighbors.P
Ziet/Ji == (zNJM)ei = average number of nearest neighbors x average
interaction energy per neighbor
where Z, is the species valence and t/Ji is the average electric potential
created by z nearest neighbors of the surface species i. However, the
potential field, ,pi, should not be limited to the coulomb effects produced
by nearest neighbors, since it pertains to long-range interactions. A more
appropriate expression for t/Ji can be obtained by assuming that its van der
Waals limit exists. This limit refers to the mathematical process of letting z
become infinite while F/ goes to zero in such a manner that their product.
165
(5.22)
in the van der Waals limit. Equation 5.22 represents the potential field
obtained when the range of interaction tends to infinity and the strength of
interaction tends to zero in a special way. The concept of a long-range
average potential field is not limited to coulombic interactions. It also
provides the physical basis for the well-known van der Waals models of
liquids, solutions, and ferromagnets.l"
The effect of the average long-range potential field, IjJ(VW) , on P(systern) in Eq. 5.20 is to multiply Q by the Boltzmann factor,
exp( - ZeljJ(vw) j T), where Z is the valence of the molecular species
under consideration: 10
p(VW)(system) == Q exp(-ZeljJ(vw)jkBT)exp(p,fkBT)
(5.23)
The Boltzmann factor acts to modify p(vw)(system) for the effect of the
"external potential field", ljJ(vw), which acts on each surface species. The
corresponding change in g in Eq. 5.21 is
g(vw)(T,P.R,P.c)
+ yOH-(aq)
= SR'Mp(OH)yHxL~SR'C
+ pZp(aq)
= SHxL~sC
(5.25a)
+ Rr-(aq) (5.25b)
ZSR'C + Zp
(5.26)
SoOSOH b
SOH
SOH
SOH
SOH
SOH
Ll-
Mm+
SRzsR
a
Na+
Na+
Cu2+
Pb z+
-
H+
Cl-
H+
H+
OHOH-
FUL-
P0,43Cit3-
zm-
i<
Rr -
pZp
"- 'i;"ftf5ttb
,-
?~~~~~;o..-
Reaction
SoO-(s) + Na+(aq) = SoONa(s)
SOH(s) + Na+(aq) = SONa(s) + H+(aq)
SOH(s) + Cqaq) + H+(aq) = SOHzCI(s)
SOH(s) + Cu2+(aq) + FUL"(aq) = SOCuFUL(s) + H+(aq)
SOH(s) + Pbz+(aq) + OH-(aq) = SOPbOH(s) + H''{aq)
SOH(s) + POl-(aq) + 2H+(aq) = SHZP04(s) + OlF'(aq)
SOH(s) + Cit3-(aq) + H+(aq) = SHCiC(s) = OH-(aq)
167
An expression for "K can be derived in the context of the van der Waals
model with the help of Eq. 5.24 and the definition 10
p~vw)
Ni
xi =
'
=
- ~vw) - M
(5.28)
of the mole fraction of species i in a binary mixture. Equation 5.28 states
that the expected value of the mole fraction is equal to the ratio of the
relative probability that i exists in the mixture to the sum of relative
probabilities for all components in the mixture. With this equation and the
two explicit expressions for P}YW), one derives from Eq. 5.27 the equation
C
K -
QSR'C
(5.29)
[(~~)]
(5.30)
where
/LO[C(aq)] == p/LO[Mm+(aq)] + q/LO[LI-(aq)] + Y/LO[OH-(aq)]
and /Lo is a Standard-State chemical potential. (In Eq. 5.30, when P exists,
/LR is taken to be the chemical potential per molecule of P in the solid
adsorbent.) The combination of Eqs. 5.29 and 5.30 produces the model
result
"K .. (K~R'C/ KSR)exp[ -(ZSR'C" e t/J~R~~' - ZSR e t/J~V;/ k n T] (5.31)
168
where
(5.32)
Finally, wi th the help of Eqs. 5.19a, 5.22, and 5.28, Eq. 5.31 Can be
written in the more explicitly composition-dependent form
cj(
(5.33)
fa! In - dXSR'C
(5.35)
Therefore, the algebraic sum of the y intercept and one half the slope in
Eq. 5.34 is equal to the common logarithm of the equilibrium constant, K.
The rational activity coefficients of the two solid-phase species, SR and
SR'C, can also be calculated with standard quadrature formulas, J:l but it is
169
(5.36)
according to Eqs. 5.31 and 5.35. Equation 5.36 shows that the exponential
factors in the van der Waals model equations for CK and K represent the
long-range coulomb contribution to the rational activity coefficients of the
surface species. The essence of the van der Waals model is that it provides
an estimate of how coulomb interactions among the surface species affect
the equilibrium constants for surface complexation reactions and the
activity coefficients of these species.
The van der Waals model can be generalized to include the situation in
which several kinds of surface complex coexist simultaneously or that in
which surface complexation involves polydentate ligancies with respect to
the surface functional groups (e.g., bidentate complexes with two groups
bonded to a bivalent metal cation). 12 These kinds of generalizations of the
model are not required explicitly in the present chapter, but their existence
underscores the broad utility of the van der Waals model as a conceptual
tool for elucidating the foundational aspects of surface complexation
theories.
5.3. THE CONSTANT CAPACITANCE MODEL
(5.37a)
(5.37b)
170
c,
(5.39)
where <Tp is the surface density of total particle charge (Eq. 3.2), C (in
faradays per square meter) is a differential capacitance density, and t/Js is
the inner potential at the surface to which <Tp refers. Equation 5.39 is
consistent with the balance of surface charge, Eq. 3.3a, if <TD is
calculated with the DDL theory expression in Eq. 5.15. Upon expanding the right side of Eq. 5.15 to second order in a MacLaurin series in
the variable t/J, one finds the approximate relationship
~CjZ7T/2t/J
(5.40)
which is consistent with Eqs. 3.3a and 5.39 when t/J == t/Js and
IZjFt/Js!RTI is small enough to justify replacing the exponential function in Eq. 5.15 by its first three terms in a MacLaurin expansion.
In the constant capacitance model, the surface
complexation reactions that involve H+ or OH- alone are special cases of
Eq. 5.37a: 14
SOHt(s) = SOH(s) + H+(aq)
(5.41a)
THE NET PROTON CHARGE.
(5.41b)
al -
xsoH[H+]
+
XSOH 2
K" _ "so-[H+]
liZ
(5.42a)
" SOH
(5.42b)
171
(Note that Eq. 5.41a is written in the reverse of the special case of
Eq. 5.37a corresponding to a = x = 1, P =q = Y = 0, and that K~l in
Eq. 5.42a is the inverse of "K' in Eq. 5.38 applied to this special case.)
Besides the conditional constants in Eq. 5.42, the constant capacitance
model specifies two intrinsic equilibrium constants for the proton
reactions'f
K~l(int)
(5.43a)
K~2(int)
(5.43b)
K~2
exp( -Ft/lslRT)
-log
K~2(int) -
(In
1~CRT
UH
UH
(5.44a)
(5.44b)
where up has been set equal to UH, the net proton surface charge density,
because of Eq. 3.2. Equations 5.44 can be applied to proton titration data
under the assumption that'"
pH < PZNPC
pH> PZNPC
(5.45)
0'
_o~
~o. ~
y-A1 20 3
.~
If
~
-I
O.IM NaCI04
10.0
6-
9.5~
:::: log
21
0
0.08
0.24
0.40
0.56
XSOH+2
0.72
9.0
0
--- .
6-
0.08
-Kg
6-
6-
6-
6- 6- 6- 6-
6-
(int) =9.5
0.24
0.40
0.56
XSO-
Ipre 5.2. Plots of the left side of Eq. 5.44 against either xsoH! or XSo- for y-A1203 suspended in 0.1 M NaCI04 (3.2 kg'm- 3
IISpCDSion).17 The different symbols represent separate experiments.
__~
'~
- ".~ -~
;;;...,~.- ~_="-.."":;,,
-.
- - .-
'.
<:..::0- ....... - --
6-
173
Equations 5.44 can be recognized as special cases of the van der Waals
model expression in Eq. 5.34 obtained by setting ZSR 0 and IZsR'c1 == 1.
Equation 5.44a corresponds exactly to Eq. 5.34 after the identifications
K:al (iInt)
=
-
SO H
KK
SOH!
=
-
CTmax
0
l/JSOH!
(5.47a)
have been made, and the same kind of result follows for Eq. 5.44b with the
definitions
S'
Kdmt)
K so K SO H
=--
U max
C=--o-
l/Jso-
(5.47b)
where tIP is the van der Waals potential. These correspondences show that
the intrinsic equilibrium constants are related closely to the partition
functions of the surface species (Eq. 5.32) and that the capacitance factor
is related to the ratio of the maximum absolute value of CTH to the
maximum absolute value of the van der Waals mean electric potential
(Eqs. 5.22 and 5.45). Thus the intrinsic equilibrium constants provide a
quantitative measure of the strength of the chemical bonds between a
surface OH group or a surface complex and the remainder of the solid
adsorbent. The capacitance parameter is seen to be the capacitance per
unit of adsorbent surface area associated with either a fully protonated or a
fully dissociated hydroxyl surface. This relationship is consistent with the
special case of Eq. 5.39 that occurs when ICTHI = CTmax and ll/Jsl is equal to its
maximum value.
The intrinsic equilibrium constants have thermodynamic significance, in
that they determine the PZNPC through the condition XSo- = XSOH!
(pH = PZNPC) applied to Eq. 5.42: 14
PZNPC =
(pK~1(int)
+ pK~2(int
(5.48)
However, the intrinsic constants are not the same as the thermodynamic
equilibrium constants for the reactions in Eq. 5.41. The thermodynamic
constants can be calculated with the help of Eq. 5.35 and the correspondences in Eq. 5.47:
K1 =
K~1(int)exp(FCTmax/2CRT)
K2 == K: 2(int)exp( -FCTmax/2CRT)
(5.49a)
(5.49b)
174
Figure 5.2, with its two lines of unequal slope (in absolute value),
illustrates another typical feature of applications of the constant capacitance model. The value of the capacitance parameter C inferred from each
slope is not the same above and below the PZNPC. 14,15,17 This result is in
conflict with the nonspecific, coulombic nature of t/J~vw) indicated in
Sec. 5.2; with the DDL theory relation between aD and t/Jin Eq. 5.40; and
with the general thermodynamic requirement that t/JgOH! = It/Jgo-I in a
ternary system comprising SOH(s), SOHt(s), and SO-(S).19 Therefore,
the lack of uniformity in the experimental value of C for pH values above
and below the PZNPC must be regarded as an inherent shortcoming of the
constant capacitance model.
METAL CATION ADSORPTION. The formation of inner-sphere surface complexes involving metal cations is typically described in the constant capacitance model with the chemical reactions 15,17,20
SOH(s) + Mm+(aq) = SOM(m-1)(s) + H+(aq)
2S0H(s) + Mm+(aq)
(5.50a)
{SOM(m-1)}[H+]
*Ki == {SOH}[M m+]
s _
f32
{(SOh M(m-2)}[H+]2
{SOH}2[M m+]
(5.51a)
(5.51b)
= *Ki exp(Ft/JslRT)
(5.52)
175
100
o
w
Cu(II)
CO
0:::
g
o
60
<{
Z
W
()
0:::
SILICA GEL
3M NaCI0 4
Q.
pH
Figure 5.3. Adsorption edges for Fe (III) , Cu(II), Cd(II) on silica gel suspended in
3 M NaCI0 4 . The solid lines represent calculated values based on the constant
capacitance model. (After Schindler et al. 20 )
Despite these difficulties with internal consistency, the constant capacitance model can provide an excellent quantitative description of the dependence of metal adsorption on pH, as exemplified in Fig. 5.3., and it gives
a prediction of the pH dependence of 0" p in the presence of adsorptive
bivalent meta! cations that is in complete qualitative agreement with the
surface charge behavior implied in Fig. 4.7. 15 The increase in metal
adsorption with increasing pH value occurs in the constant capacitance
model solely because of an increase in the concentration of the 80- species
and in the strength of the inner-sphere complexes between this species and
the metal cation, as reflected in the conditional constants in Eq. 5.51.
Hydrolysis of the adsorbed metal cation is not usually invoked in the
constant capacitance model because significant adsorption occurs at pH
values well below the PZNPC of the adsorbent and below the onset of
hydrolysis of the adsorptive metal in the aqueous solution phase. 14,15 With
respect to the reversals of surface charge implied in Fig. 4.7, the constant
capacitance model provides a mechanism based on a competition between
the reactions in Eq. 5.41 and those in Eq. 5.50, In the absence of an
adsorptive metal cation, the model predicts a single charge reversal at the
PZNPC (cf. the lowest curve in Fig. 4.7). When the metal cation is
present, an increase in pH value contributes to a negative surface charge
176
through Eq. 5.41b and a positive surface charge (for m > 1) through
Eq. 5.50a. If the concentration of metal cations in the aqueous solution
phase and the value of *K~ are large enough, the reaction in Eq. 5.50a
eventually dominates and the surface charge increases with increasing pH
value, as indicated in Fig. 4.7. However, as the pH value becomes high
enough to induce significant hydrolysis of the adsorptive metal cation in the
aqueous solution phase, the surface charge again decreases, according to
the constant capacitance model, because the concentration of the
SOM(m-1) species is reduced sharply by the decline in the value of [M"."]
in Eq. 5.51a. This mechanism of surface charge decrease does not
predict that the total surface charge at high pH values will emulate that of a
hydroxy-polymer coating of the adsorbed metal cation; instead it predicts
that the change at high pH values will be similar to that expected in the
absence of the adsorbed metal. 21
The constant capacitance model postulates that
anions react with surface hydroxyl groups through the ligand exchange
mechanism embodied in Eq. 5.37b. 14 ,22 In typical applications, the value
of b in Eq. 5.37b is either 1 or 2 and the corresponding conditional
equilibrium constants have the form
ANION ADSORPTION.
(5.53a)
s =
{S2HxL~Y+1)}[OH-Y
f32 - {SOHf[HxL~X-ql)]
(5.53b)
K~
(5.54)
10g[HxL~-ql)]
1~;CRT up
(5.55)
If experimental conditions are arranged such that SOH and SHxL q are the
only surface species, then up = "I U max XSHL, where XSHL is the mole
fraction of SHxL q, and Eq. 5.55 becomes a special case of the van der
Waals model expression in Eq. 5.34. In particular, the identifications
pZp _ OH-, SR'C - SHxL q , SR - SOH, ZSR = 0, ZSR'C = "I. and
177
C ==
K SO H
'Y~max
~SHL
(5.56)
All other adsorbed metal cations and inorganic or organic anions form
outer-sphere complexes.
2. If the reacting surface functional group is an inorganic hydroxyl group,
the chemical reactions that describe surface complexation are special
cases of Eq. 5.37a. However, except for the protonation-proton
dissociation reactions in Eq. 5.41, the solid phase product,
(SO)aMp(OH)yHxL;(s), is understood to always represent an outersphere complex. Therefore, when metal cations or cationic complexes
adsorb, a water molecule separates them from the (SO)a unit. When
anionic complexes adsorb, they, too, are separated from the protonated
(SO)a unit by a water molecule. The ligand exchange mechanism of
Eq. 5.37b is not invoked as the basis for surface complexes with anions.
Conditional equilibrium constants in the triple layer model use the
Infinite Dilution Reference State for the activity coefficients of aqueous
species. 16 With this convention, the species M m + (aq) and L l - (aq) in the
reaction in Eq. 5.37a can refer to the metal cation and the anion of the
background electrolyte. The conditional equilibrium constant for this
general reaction takes the form
cK
= "sodH + )a
"~Cl"(C)
(5.57)
178
which is the special case of Eq. 5.27 in which SR' = SO, pZp = H+,
and SR = SOH.
3. The relationship between surface charge and inner potential is specified
through the following equations:
O'd
(5.58a)
(5.58b)
s a
OXYGEN
179
and that surface charge balance (Eq. 3.36) is expressed mathematically by the equation
(TOS
(5.59)
in the triple layer model. By contrast with the constant capacitance
model, the linear relationships in Eqs. 5.58a and 5.58b are assumed
valid whatever the magnitudes of the inner potentials, 0/.. o/f3, and o/d'
Moreover, the charge-balance condition, Eq. 5.59, is imposed explicitly
and the full DDL theory expression for (T d ==' (TD is used. Note that
Eqs. 5.58 and 5.59 are not consistent for arbitrary values of the surface
charge densities and inner potentials unless ions are present in the {3
plane under all circumstances.
THE NET PROTON CHARGE. In the triple layer model, the protonation and
proton dissociation reactions in Eq. 5.41 are described by the conditional
equilibrium constants
xSOH(H+)
Qal == -::'=,'-'----'--
(5.60a)
XSOHt
Qa2 ==
xso-(H+)
(5.6Ob)
--=.=---..;'--...:..
XSOH
Besides the use of the Infinite Dilution Reference State with respect
to the activity of H+(aq), the Qa,U = 1,2) in Eq. 5.60 differ from the
K~, U = 1,2) in Eq. 5.42 through the stipulation that XSOHt and xsoare mole fractions of the uncomplexed solid phase species SOHt(s) and
SO-(s). Thus complexed species like SOH 2L<1- 1)(S) and SOM(m-l)(s) are
excluded from Eq. 5.60 even though SOHt and SO- form part of their
structure on the molecular level. Instead, special cases of Eq. 5.37a, such
as Eq. 5.50 and the sum of Eqs. 4.44a and 4.44c, are assumed to apply to
the background electrolyte and contribute to (TH' The conditional equilibrium constants for these latter reactions are, for the common example of a
1: 1 background electrolyte ML(aq)
*QL- == xsoH(H+)(L-)
(5.6Oc)
XSOH2L
(5.6Od)
K::r
iIE
Qal exp(-eo/s/kBT)
(i
1,2)
(5.61a)
(a = L - ,M+) (5.61b)
180
composition of-both the solid and the aqueous solution phase. They can be
determined experimentally on the basis of linear expressions that follow
from the combination of Eqs. 5.58a, 5.60, and 5.61:
,
(XSOH)'
,
e"'f3
pH -log'
,
= -logK~~t
- e
UH XSOHt
(In 1O)C1kBT
(In 1O)kBT
pH-log
(XSO-) _ -logKint
XSOH
a2 -
e
(In1O)C
SO M
1kB
TuH
e"'f3
(Inl0)k T
B
(562a)
.
(5.62b)
(5.62c)
XSOH
where
UH = (FM/NA)(xSOHt +
XSOH 2L -
xso- -
XSOM)
(5.63)
_.
eFM
_ 1
.-2
Ct - 4'25(ln 1O)NAkB T'-- .30 F m
1""_,,,,1
at 298.15 K, where M = 1.2 X 1019 m- 2 has been used in the calculation.r'' These two parameters can be related to the van der Waals
models parameters by setting SR'C = SOM and SR = SOH in Eq. 5.34
and comparing the resulting expression with Eq. 5.62d. In this application,
ZSOH = 0 but ZSOM = 1 because the van der Waals average potential is
created by the solvated M+ cations in the f3 plane. Therefore, with the
correspondences pZp = H+ and (C) = (M") inserted into Eq. 5.34, the
triple layer model parameters can be expressed by the equations'f
*Kint _
M+ -
KSO M
K SO H
1 -
FM
0
N A "'SOM
(5.64)
where "'~OM is the maximum van der Waals electric potential created by
181
I I r-----,.----r---r-----,-----,-----,-----,----.-..,
Rutile in LiN03
+
...J
*o0LiT
.. 1M
O.IM
__
5 ~
__JL.___
0.02
__JL.___
0.04..
0.06
0.08
-uH I(FM/.A)
Figure 5.5. A graph of -log *Qu+ (Eq. 5.60d) versus -uH/(FMNA ) (Eq. 5.63)
for rutile suspended in LiN0 3 . The line through the data conforms to Eq. 5.62d.
(After Davis et al. 23)
(5.65)
can be calculated in the triple layer model with the help of Eqs. 5.35 and
5.64:
(5.66)
Just as in the constant capacitance model, the intrinsic equilibrium
constant in the triple layer model refers to an unconventional standard
state wherein the complexed species create no coulombic effects, i.e.,
*K~~ = K when c/1~OM = O.
Equations 5.62c and 5.62d provide the basis for two independent
determinations of the .capacitance parameter C 1 in the triple layer model.
However, the check on internal consistency that these two separate
evaluations of C, could furnish has never been performed in any published
study.2:l,24,27-.,o In fact, C 1 has been taken universally as an adjustable
182
SOH(s) + Mm+(aq)
SOH(s) + Mm+(aq) + H zO(l)
SOM(m-l)(s) + H+(aq)
(5.67a)
==
(a = Mm+,MOH(m-l
(5.69)
183
The triple layer model has been shown to provide quantitative descriptions of both adsorption edges and uwpH relationships for a variety of
hydrous oxide adsorbents suspended in aqueous solutions ranging in
composition from single, 1: 1 electrolytes to major-ion seawater. 23,24,27-30
The increase in adsorption with pH commonly observed for bivalent metal
cations (Fig. 4.6) is interpreted in the triple layer model as the result of an
increase in the concentration of the SO- species and in the formation of
the outer-sphere complex SOMOH. This effect is illustrated in Fig. 5.6 for
the adsorption edge of Pb(II) on y-A12 0 3 suspended in 0.1 M NaCI0 4 . 32
The model curve, which follows the experimental data closely reflects
almost entirely the contribution of complexed PbOH+ cations, since the
SOPb + species never accounts for more than 20 per cent of the adsorbed
lead and the PZNPC of y-A120 3 is about 8.3. Thus a kind of surfaceinduced hydrolysis of the adsorptive metal cation plays a major role in the
triple layer model, whereas in the constant capacitance model it plays no
role at all. This difference is made all the more striking by the fact that the
data in Fig. 5.6 have been described with equal quantitative accuracy by
the constant capacitance model. 17 ,33
The charge reversal behavior shown in Fig. 4.7 also can be described by
the triple layer model. 34 The mechanism relies on the competition between
the reactions in Eq. 5.41 and that in Eq. 5.67b. When an adsorptive,
bivalent metal cation is present, an increase in pH value causes the
Figure 5.6. The adsorption edge for Pb(II) on y-Al z0 3 suspended in 0.1 M
. NaCl0 4 The solid line represents the contribution of SOPb+ alone. (After Davis
and Leckie z3)
100 r------r-----r----.----r---r---a::::;==-----,
80
"0
CI.l
X
CI.l
a.
E
.""
60
-...
cCI.l::
40
CI.l
0..
20
_____ - - - - -
--------,-50--Pb 2 + only
......- -....
7.0
OL.--.....I--.....L--.....I.--.....I..--~--
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.5
5.0
pH
6.0
6.5
184
185
in Fig. 4.8, has been obtained even when the triple layer model is applied
to strongly adsorptive oxyanions. However, except for SO~-, this agreement is likely to be a model artifact since the mechanism of strong
oxyanion adsorption is ligand exchange, as discussed in Sec. 4.4.
5.5. THE OBJECTIVE MODEL
The objective model'" derives its name from a pluralistic conceptualization of the species possible on an inorganic hydroxyl surface. This conceptualization, as will emerge clearly from the following list of model
hypotheses, includes features of both the constant capacitance and the
triple layer model.
1. Surface complexation involves all four of the planes depicted in
Fig. 5.4. Complexed protons and hydroxide ions reside in the s plane,
inner-sphere complexes containing trace metal cations or oxyanions are
assigned to the a plane, outer-sphere complexes with the ions of a
background electrolyte are assigned to the 13 plane, and the d plane
marks the beginning of the aqueous solution phase, where the diffuse
ion swarm is found.
2. The activity of a species i located in the plane A(A = s,a, or 13) is equal
to the ratio of the surface excess of i (Eq. 4.5) to moles of i per unit area
that can still be accommodated in the plane A:36
r~w)
I
(5.72)
where ail.. is the activity of i in the plane A, r}w) is the surface excess of i,
M A is the maximum number of surface species possible per unit area in
the plane A, and the sum is over all species adsorbed in the plane A. The
activity of species i in the plane Ais assumed further to be related to the
activity in the aqueous solution phase through the equatiorr"
(5.73)
where K'A is an empirical parameter representing the interaction
between i and a surface functional group, a, is the activity of i in the
aqueous solution phase, Z, is the valence of the adsorbed species, and
!/JA is the inner potential at the plane Aexpressed relative to a potential
in the aqueous solution phase far from the surface. The combination of
Eqs. 5.72 and 5.73 provides the basic adsorption equation of the
objective model:
r}W)
= [(MAIN..... ) -
:t rjW)]
KIA
a, exp(-Z,F !/JAIRT)
(5.74)
186
constraint
(5.75)
3. The relationships between surface charge density and inner potential
are specified by expressions similar to Eq. 5.58:
UH
= G sa( l/Js
- l/Ja)
UH
(5.76a)
(5.76b)
(5.78a)
(5.78b)
for equilibrium with respect to the transfer of species i across the interfacial
region. Equation 5.73 follows from Eq. 5.78 after making the definition
SOHiS
187
Eq. 5.34. Thus the protonation (and proton dissociation) of the inorganic
hydroxyl surface is described in the objective model just as it is in the
constant capacitance model. However, in the objective model, aH is given
the explicit mathematical representation
- F(r(w)
r(w) ) aH SOH~ so- = as
_ (Ms / NA)[KsoH}saw exp( -F/Js/ RT) - Kso-saoH- exp(F/Js/ RT)]
1 + KSOH~SaWexp(-F/Js/RT) + KSO-SaOH-exp(F/JslRT)
(5.80)
which follows from Eqs. 5.74 and 5.75 applied to SOH, SOHt, and
SO-.36 Equation 5.80 is a special case of the surface charge density
relationship applied to each plane A:
aA = F ~
zjrt)
(A = s,a, or f3)
(5.81)
where the sum extends over all species j in the A plane. Equations 5.81 are
subject to the constraints implied in Eqs. 5.58c and 5.77.
The objective model considers the parameters MA , KiA' and GA>..'
(A,A' = s, a, or f3; A 1= A') to be adjustable curve-fitting parameters. The
constants pertaining to the sand f3 planes are determined by fitting the
model to potentiometric titration data (aH as a function of pH) obtained in
the presence of a background electrolyter" An additional check on this fit
'can be made if one assumes that /Jd is the same as the zeta potential and
measured values of ( as a function of pH are available. Once the
parameters for the sand f3 planes have been established, adsorption
isotherm, adsorption edge or adsorption envelope, and surface charge data
pertaining to the reaction of the inorganic surface hydroxyl group with
trace metal cations or with oxyanions can be used to determine the
parameters in the a plane from curve-fitting algorithms.39
It should be apparent even from this brief discussion that the objective
model is essentially a parameter-optimization procedure for speciating the
interfacial region near an array of inorganic surface hydroxyl groups. The
model exhibits some features of a hybrid between the constant capacitance
and triple layer models in that its "binding constants," KiA, can be related
in pairs to the intrinsic equilibrium constants of the constant capacitance
model whereas its "surface potentials," /JA' are used like the inner potentials in the triple layer model and assigned to specific planes containing
adsorbed species. Chemical reactions and their, concomitant equilibrium
constants play no role in the objective model. In this respect, the model is
close in spirit to the classical Gouy-Chapman-Stern-Grahame picture of
the electrical double layer.t" with the a plane identified as the inner
Helmholtz plane and the f3 plane as the outer Helmholtz plane. This
mixture of classical double layer theory and the surface complexation
concept is not a fully self-consistent chemical model, however, because it
does not reduce to the triple layer model when no species are present in the
a plane.
188
189
~S = L L L a{(S(i)O)aM;P(OH)yHxL~k)}
a j,k p,y,k,q
LL L
b
j,k p,y,x,q
b{S~)M;,n(OH)yHxL~k)}
(5.82)
= (FjS)
~
I
[L {S(')(OH)xL~k)} ,L
-
k,q,x
j,p,y
{S(i)OMi/\OH)y}] (5.83)
where F is the Faraday constant. Equation 5.83 is the same as Eq. 5.46
with the one difference that here the species that contribute to XSOH! and
XSo- are shown explicitly. The surface density of inner-sphere complex
charge is given by the equation
UIS
= (FjS)
LLL
j,k p,y,x,q
[ZIs{(S(i)O)aM~j)(OH)yHxqk)}
ZIs{Sbi)M~j)(OH)yHxqk)}]
(5.84)
LL L
I
where Zos .. pm
+x
l,k
".y.x.t{
Zos{(S(i)O)aM~j)(OH)yHxL~k)}
(5.85)
190
species with at least one water molecule interposed between it and the
surface anion, (S(i)O)~-. Equations 5.83 to 5.85 are subject to the
charge-balance expression (Eq. 3.3b)
+ aH + aIS + aos + aD + 0
(5.86)
This equation and Eq. 5.82 provide the mass and charge balance constraints on any surface complexation model.
Since each of the solid phase species in Eq. 5.82 can be regarded as one
of the products in a chemical reaction, as in Eq. 5.37, there exist chemical
equilibrium constraints for each class of reactive surface hydroxyl groups:
S(i)O) M(j)(OH) H L(k(H)a-x
K(i) a
pyx q
(5 87 )
soc - (S(i)OH)"(M(j)P(OH)Y(L(kq
. a
ao
(S(i)M(j)(OH) H L(k(OH)b- y
b
Pyx q
sc (S(i)OH)b(M(j)p(HY(L(kq
K(') -
(5 87b)
.
(5.88)
SOH
where
CK(I)
soc -
xsodH)a
xS'OH(C)
(5.89)
191
fsoc and fSOH are rational activity coefficients.P Given that K~bc can be
measured, the task of a surface complexation model is to develop a method
for calculating the rational activity coefficients. Once this is accomplished,
the value of a: can be calculated and the composition of the solid phase
predicted through a prediction of Krbc and introduction of the results
into Eqs. 5.82 to 5.85. The prediction of the solid phase composition
proceeds in exactly the same way as a speciation calculation for the
aqueous solution phase."
In Sec. 5.2 it is shown that the van der Waals model in statistical
mechanics leads to a specific prediction of the functional dependence of
ratios like fsoc/HoH on the molecular properties of an interfacial region
(d. Eq. 5.36). The surface complexation models discussed in the present
chapter are related to the van der Waals model and therefore also make
specific predictions of the dependence of rational activity coefficients on
molecular parameters. As an example, consider the constant capacitance
model and, in particular, Eqs. 5.41b, 5.42b, and 5.43b. Equation 5.42b is a
special case of Eq. 5.89 (a = 1; P = Y = x = q = 0), and Eq. 5.43b is
analogous to Eq. 5.88. With the help of Eqs. 5.47 and 5.49b, one can write
the exact analog of Eq. 5.88:
C
(5.90)
since K 2 in Eq. 5.49b is a special case of K~~c in Eq. 5.87a. It follows from
a comparison of Eqs. 5.88 and 5.90 that
-fso-f:SOH
0
= exp [ F (120/S0-
/]
O/S )RT
(5.91)
in the constant capacitance model. Equation 5.91 is a fundamental molecular hypothesis in the model. Since the inner potential, o/s' cannot be
determined independently, the model must make the additional assumption contained in Eq. 5.39. Once this is done, only the capacitance
parameter C remains to be determined from measurements of the dependence of K~2 on up, as described in Sec. 5.3.
In the case of the triple layer model, the formation of the species SO- is
described by two equilibrium constants and Eqs. 5.60b and 5.60d are the
relevant special cases of Eq. 5.89. Equations 5.61, for i = 2, a = M+ are
analogous to Eq. 5.88. Taking Eq. 5.61b with a = M+ in combination
with Eq. 5.66, one can drive the expression
(5.92)
since Kin Eq, 5.66 is a special case of K~bc in Eq. 5.87a. The ratio of
rational activity coefficients, fSOM/fsOH' then follows from a comparison of
Eqs. 5.88 and 5.92:
f:f:SOM
so...
= exp[
e(~o/~OM + o/M -
o/(3)/k BT]
(5.93)
Table 5.3. Constraint equations and molecular hypotheses in the constant capacitance and triple layer
models for a hydrous oxide suspended in a 1: 1 electrolyte solution.
Constraint equation
Molecular hypothesis
fsoc
fil'
= f;~ exp(Z;er/JA/kBT)
(A
=s
or (3)
aH = C1(r/Js - r/Jf3)
aH + aos = C 2(r/Jf3 - r/Jd)
aD
= s or f3).
193
layer model. Because the inner potentials are not determinable independently, Eqs. 5.58a and 5.64 must be invoked, leaving C1 to be determined
by measurements of the dependence of * QM+ on UH'
The general pattern that can be extracted from these two examples
comprises two steps:
1. A molecular interpretation of the equilibrium constants in Eq. 5.87 is
initiated by stating whether the surface species in the numerators form
inner-sphere or outer-sphere complexes.
2. Consistent with the hypotheses made in step 1, the rational activity
coefficients of the surface species are expressed mathematically in terms
of molecular parameters. If these parameters cannot be related directly
to measurable quantities, additional molecular equations are invoked to
provide such a relationship.
194
plane, parallel non-conducting particles, Trans. Faraday Soc. 50: 1356 (1954)
and in F.A.M. de Haan, The negative adsorption of anions (anion exclusion)
in systems with interacting double layers, J. Phys. Chern. 68: 1970 (1964). See
also Chap. 1 and 7 in G. H. Bolt, op. cit.' These more complicated DDL
theories are not required for the chemical models discussed in the present
chapter.
4. D. C. Grahame, Diffuse double layer theory for electrolytes of unsymmetrical
valence types, J. Chern. Phys. 21: 1054 (1953). See also Chap. 1 in G. H. Bolt,
. 1
op. elf.
5. See, e.g., G. H. Bolt, op cit. ,1 pp. 14-17: Most often, the absolute magnitude
of r/J(O) is set arbitrarily equal to + 00 and the DDL model is calibrated instead
by introducing (T(x) = -(Tin into Eq. 5.5, where (Tin is a measured value of the
intrinsic surface charge density. The adjustable parameter in the model is
thereby shifted from r/J(O) to the value x = 5 that satisfies Eq. 5.5, with an
appropriate formula for r/J(x) used in calculating the derivative on the left side.
The effect of this substitute calibration is to place the plane to which (Tin refers
at some positive value of x instead of at x = 0 and to restrict the application of
the DDL model to the region x > 5. However, aside from the advantage
gained by forcing (T(x) to have a reasonable value at the particle surface, the
physical aspects of this renormalized DDL model vis-a-vis surface complexes
are the same as those of the unrenormalized model having the surface plane at
x = O.
6. The first unequivocal demonstration of this important, well-known constraint
appears in O. Stern, Zur Theorie der elektrolytischen Doppelschicht,
Z. Elektrochem. 30: 508 (1924). The Stern model of the interfacial region was
the first chemical model in the spirit of the present chapter.
7. G. M. Torrie and J. P. Valleau, Electrical double layers. 1: Monte Carlo study
of a uniformly charged surface, J. Chern. Phys. 73: 5807 (1980).4. Limitations
of the Gouy-Chapman theory, J. Phys. Chern. 86: 3251 (1982). The second
paper also gives references for recent attempts to modify DDL theory to take
into account finite ion size and potential fluctuations.
8. Theoretical calculations that anticipated this result are summarized in Chap. 7
of M. J. Sparnaay, The Electrical Double Layer. Pergamon Press, Oxford,
1972.
9. The development of computer-based algorithms from surface complexation
models is discussed in J. Westall, Chemical equilibrium including adsorption
on charged surfaces, in Particulates in Water (M. C. Kavanaugh and J. O.
Leckie, eds.). American Chemical Society; Washington, D.C., 1980.
10. An introduction to statistical mechanics that is adequate for a comprehension
of the present discussion is given in Chap. 6 of G. Sposito, op cit.: Full details
are provided in Chap. 7 and 14 of T. L. Hill, An fntroduction to Statistical
Thermodynamics. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1960.
11. The method of deriving Eq. 5.23 presented here follows the discussion on
p. 252 in T. L. Hill, op. cit. 10 More general (and more rigorous) methods for
deriving partition functions in the van der Waals limit are given in Sec. 16 of
E. A. Guggenheim, Statistical thermodynamics of mixtures with nonzero
energies of mixing, Proc. Royal Soc. (London) 183A:213 (1944).
12. G. Sposito, On the surface complexation model of the oxide-aqueous solution
interface, J. Col/oid Interface Sci. 91:329 (1983).
13. Conditional equilibrium constants for reactions in heterogeneous chemical
systems are discussed fully in Chap. 5 of O. Sposito, op. cit. I
195
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
196
24. Comprehensive recent surveys of the triple layer model are to be found in J. A.
Davis and J. O. Leckie, Speciation of adsorbed ions at the oxide/water
interface, in Chemical Modeling in Aqueous Systems (E. A. Jenne, ed.;
American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1979) and in R. O. James and
G. A. Parks, Characterization of aqueous colloids by their electrical doublelayer and intrinsic surface chemical properties, Surface Colloid Sci. 12: 119
(1982). A computer-based algorithm for the triple layer model is described by
J. Westall, op. cit. 9
25. R. O. James, J. A. Davis, and J. O. Leckie, Computer simulation of the
conductometric and potentiometric titrations of the surface groups on ionizable
latexes, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 65: 331 (1978). A complete discussion of the
graphic extrapolation methods, with examples, is given on pp. 167-170 in
R. O. James and G. A. Parks, op. cit. 24
26. J. A. Davis, R. O. James, and J. O. Leckie, op. cit.23
27. R. O. James, P. J. Stiglich, and T. W. Healy, The Ti0 2/aqueous electrolyte
system: Applications of colloid models and model colloids, in P. H. Tewari,
op. cit.2o
28. L. Balistrieri and J. W. Murray, Surface of goethite (a-FeOOH) in seawater,
in E. A. Jenne, op. cit. 24 The surface chemistry of goethite (a-FeOOH) in
major ion seawater, Am. J. Sci. 281: 788 (1981). The adsorption of Cu, Pb,
Zn, and Cd on goethite from major ion seawater, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta
46: 1253 (1982). The surface chemistry of 8-Mn02 in major ion seawater,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 46: 1041 (1982).
29. A. E. Regazzoni, M. A. Blesa, and A. J. G. Maroto, Interfacial properties of
zirconium dioxide and magnetite in water, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 91: 560
(1982).
30. M. M. Benjamin and N. S. Bloom, Effects of strong binding of anionic
adsorbates on adsorption of trace metals on amorphous iron oxyhydroxide, in
20
PHT
. . ewan,' op. cit.
31. Surface speciation calculations are analogous to speciation calculations for
aqueous solution phases, as pointed out by J. Westall, op. cit. ,9 in a detailed
review.
32. See Part II of the series by J. A. Davis and J. O. Leckie, op. cit. 23
33. Other examples of surface chemical data that are described equally well by the
triple layer and constant capacitance models are given in J. Westall and
H. Hohl, A comparison of electrostatic models for the oxide/solution interface, Advan. Colloid Interface Sci. 12: 265 (1980).
34. See R. O. James et aI., op. cit. 27
35. See Part 3 of the series by J. A. Davis and J. O. Leckie, op. cit. 23 ; J. A. Davis
and J. O. Leckie, op. cit.24; L. Balistrieri and J. W. Murray, op. cit28
36. M. Sasaki, M. Morlya, T. Yasunaga, and R. D. Astumian, A kinetic study of
ion-pair formation on the surface of a-FeOOH in aqueous suspension using the
electric field pulse technique, J. Phys. Chem. 87: 1449 (1983).
37. J. W. Bowden, A. M. Posner, and J. P. Quirk, Ionic adsorption on variable
charge mineral surfaces: Theoretical-charge development and titration curves,
Aust. J. Soil Res. 15: 121 (1977). N. J. Barrow, J. W. Bowden, A. M. Posner,
and J. P. Quirk, An objective method for fitting models of ion adsorption on
variable charge surfaces, Aust. J. Soil Res. 18:34 (1980). A. M. Posner and
N. J. Barrow. Simplification of a model for ion adsorption on oxide surfaces,
J. Soil Sci. 33: 211 (19H2). Reviews of the objective model are given in
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
197
6
SURFACE CHEMICAL ASPECTS
OF SOIL COLLOIDAL STABILITY
199
octahedral solvation shell for Ca2+ in the 1.91 nm hydrate of Camontmorillonite, and in electron spin resonance spectra of exchangeable
Cu2+ and Mn2 + in the three-layer hydrate of montmorillonite, which show
that the principal symmetry axis of the octahedral solvation shell is
perpendicular to the siloxane surface." Thus it may be concluded that a
stable, outer-sphere surface complex that brings together two unit phyllosilicate layers in face-to-face association is a characteristic molecular
structure in suspensions of montmorillonite bearing bivalent exchangeable
cations.
A variety of experimental methods has been applied to determine the
equilibrium number of unit layers in a montmorillonite quasicrystal. The
results of some of these experiments are summarized in Table 6.1.
Although variability exists among the experimental estimates for a given
homoionic form of the clay mineral, a clear consensus emerges as to the
absence of quasicrystals in dilute Na-montmorillonite suspensions
(1.2 0.2 unit layers) and to the presence offour to eight unit layers per
quasicrystal in dilute Ca-montmorillonite suspensions. Perhaps none of the
determinations summarized in Table 6.1 is conclusive by itself, but taken as
a group the set of data is quite convincing. A brief review of the five
techniques listed in Table 6.1 can serve as a guide to estimating the
reliability of the individual results.
Small-angle neutron or X-ray scattering" from dilute (less than 20 kg of
clay per cubic meter) suspensions of montmorillonite can be used to infer
the average thickness of the scattering particles, which are assumed to be
disc-shaped aggregates consisting of unit layers in face-to-face association
with water layers interspersed between them. The intensity of the neutrons
or X-rays scattered through small angles by one of these aggregates
depends on the radius of gyration, which in turn can be related to the
Table 6.1. Experimental estimates of the number of unit layers in face-to-face association in a particle of
montmorillonite
Exchangeable
cation
Neutron
scattering"
Li+
Na+
K+
Cs+
Mg 2+
Ca 2+
1
2
3
-
X-ray
scattering"
Electron
microscopy'
-
1
-
6-8
1.4 0.5
-
16 2
Viscosity"
1.0
1.0 1.3
1.4
1.7
2.9
4.2 5.0
-
Light
scattering7
Chloride
exclusions
1.0 1.0
1.2 1.1
1.5 2.1
4.2
8.8
5.9 6.5
201
particle thickness through standard geometric formulas. Small-angle scattering data interpreted in this way for cold neutrons led to aggregate
thickness estimates of 1.1, 2.6, and 4.2 nm, respectively, for Li-, K-, and
Cs-montmorillonite." Within the experimental precision of 0.2 nm, these
results are consistent with particle structures comprising one, two, and
three unit phyllosilicate layers, respectively (e.g., in K-montmorillonite,
2.6 0.2 nm compared with 0.96 + 0.29 + 0.96 = 2.2 nm for a two-layer
quasicrystal). The same kind of approach with X-rays led to estimates of
one unit layer per particle in dilute suspensions of Na-montmorillonite and
six to eight unit layers per particle for Ca-montmorillonite."
High-resolution transmission electron microscopy' can be used to make a
direct estimate of the number of unit layers in a montmorillonite aggregate. A critical factor in this method is sample preparation. If the
solidification and ultimate dehydration of a clay suspension (required in
order to present the suspension to an electron beam) do not alter the
aggregate structure, then the average number of layers in an aggregate
can be determined accurately through a microscopic examination of its
cross section. In practice, some alteration in aggregate structure is expected during sample preparation, and there is a possibility that ultrasectioning the sample will lead to an overestimate of the number of layers
in thick quasicrystals whose outermost clay platelets are only partially
intact." For these reasons, the estimate for Ca-montmorillonite in
Table 6.1 should be regarded as an upper limit.
Measurements of the specific viscosity of a very dilute (less than 2 kg of
clay per cubic meter) montmorillonite suspension can be used to determine
the average thickness of the suspended clay particles if the relationship"
71sp =
k 1Jp
(6.1)
71su -
71so
(6.2)
71so
and
1Jp = (c/Pc)(l + 0)
(6.3)
(6.4)
202
The application of Eq. 6.1 to the estimation of the number of unit layers
per clay aggregate involves the additional assumptions that (1) the parameters a, fJ, and Pc do not depend on the type of exchangeable cation on
the clay and (2) each aggregate of either Na- or Li-montmorillonite
comprises a single unit layer. With these two assumptions, the slopes of
linear plots of 1]sp against c can be compared for several homoionic
montmorillonites and used to calculate the number of unit layers, as given
in Table 6.1. These estimates are relative values based on a number of
simplifying assumptions.
The use of light scattering to estimate the number of unit layers per clay
aggregate in a montmorillonite suspension is analogous to the method of
small-angle neutron or X-ray scattering. The intensity of light scattered by
an aggregate depends on the refractive index characteristics of the aggregate, the concentration of clay in the suspension, and the number of unit
layers in face-to-face association within the aggregate." Under the assumption that the refractive index characteristics and the mass density of the
clay do not depend on the type of exchangeable cation, the turbidity of a
series of homoionic montmorillonites is proportional to the number of unit
layers per aggregate. With the convention that Li-montmorillonite suspensions contain only single-layer aggregates, relative estimates, as given in
Table 6.1, are possible.
Graphs of the volume of chloride exclusion against the inverse square
root of chloride concentration can be used to estimate the specific surface
area of the aggregates in a montmorillonite suspension, according to
Eqs. 1.17 and 1.19. If it is assumed that the entire suspension comprises
quasicrystals with n unit layers each, thenf = 1.0 in Eqs. 1.19 and 1.20. If
it is assumed also that no complexes form between exchangeable cations
and siloxane ditrigonal cavities on the external surfaces-of quasicrystals,
then Eq. 1.20 leads to the conclusion that the specific surface area
measured by chloride exclusion is proportional to n, With the convention
that n = 1 for Li-montmorillonite, the relative estimates of n in the last
two columns of Table 6.1 can be made." These estimates are naive in that
surface complexes on the external surfaces are ignored despite the
evidence for their existence discussed following Table 1.8. However,
measurements of Vex for Ca- and Mg-montmorillonite suspensions do
indicate a limiting value, equal to about 0.3 dnr' kg-I, as the inverse
square root of the chloride concentration is extrapolated to zero." This
limiting value is in agreement with the y intercept in Eq. 1.19:
Sod/2 = 7.51 x 105 m2 kg- 1 x (1.91 - 0.96)nm/2 = 0.357 dnr' kg-I,
the volume inside the quasicrystals from which chloride is assumed to be
completely excluded. Although the estimates of n in Table 6.1 also reflect
differences in the extent of external surface complexation on the
homoionic montmorillonites, the good agreement of the measured Vex
values with those predicted by Eq. 1.19 indicates that chloride exclusion
data do give evidence for quasicrystal formation.
203
The estimates in Table 6.1 clearly are not truly quantitative since they
are based on both model assumptions and computational simplifications
that cannot be substantiated a priori. Nonetheless, they do show unanimity
for a given homoionic form of montmorillonite and it does seem justifiable
to infer from them that, in relatively dilute suspensions, the structure of
Na-montmorillonite particles is different from that of Ca-rnontmorillonite
particles. By induction one would conclude also that there should be some
kind of continuous transition from more or less single-unit-layer particles
to quasicrystals as one observes changes in the properties of suspensions of
montmorillonite bearing both Na + and Ca2+ on the basal planes. This
conclusion is verified experimentally by the data in Fig. 6.2.10 The ordinate
of the graph represents the ratio of the value of some suspension property
P to the value of P for Na-montmorillonite; the abscissa refers to values of
the charge fraction of exchangeable Na+ on the clay. Both the intensity' of
the light transmitted (not scattered) by a suspension and the electrophoretic mobility of its constituent particles are expected to be directly sensitive to particle dimensions. The intrinsic viscosity (the ratio of T/sp to c in
Eqs. 6.1 and 6.3) and the chloride exclusion volume are dependent on
r-------:::~.--I
0.8
0.6
TRANSMITTED LIGHT
INTENSITY
ELECTROPHORETIC MOBILITY
INTRINSIC VISCOSITY
CHLORIDE EXCLUSION
VOLUME
oOl----...-.--~--......L_--L.---~
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
204
particle shape and external surface area, respectively. That these four
properties show sharp increases when the charge fraction of Na + on the
clay lies between 0.15 and 0.30 indicates that, in this range, the quasicrystals of Ca-montmorillonite are largely being broken up in favor of
more or less single-unit-layer aggregates. Evidently, when E N a < 0.3, the
quasicrystals are stable entities with exchangeable Na+ cations residing
principally on their external surfaces, as discussed in connection with
Fig. 3.4.
The mixing together of Na- and Camontmorillonite suspensions to produce an overall charge fraction of Na +
on the clay particles below 0.1 results in a very rapid (less than 1 min)
formation of quasicrystals from conversion of the Na-montmorillonite
particles.!' This rapid conversion is necessarily mediated by a redistribu-:
tion of the exchangeable cations such that Na + ions are relocated, as
required, to the external surfaces of already-formed quasicrystals that
contain Ca2+ ions on their internal surfaces. The relocation probably
involves replacement by Na+ of Ca2+ already on external surfaces since
the latter ions are likely to have a higher mobility than Ca2+ adsorbed
inside a quasicrystal. 12
On the other hand, if the mixing together of two homoionic montmorillonite suspensions produces an overall charge fraction of Na + larger
than 0.6, then there is a gradual decomposition of the initial set of
quasicrystals, with the final result being a suspension whose physical
properties resemble closely those of a collection of single-unit-layer clay
particles.!' This slower process of quasicrystal conversion to single unit
layers reflects both the lower mobility of Ca2+ in the interlayer region and
the difficulty Na+ has in replacing these bivalent cations in the initial step
of quasicrystal destruction. In keeping with this point of view, the decomposition is aided by maintaining a low electrolyte concentration, since
interlayer swelling is thereby enhanced. 13
These characteristics of quasicrystal formation and breakdown are
consistent with the trends in Fig. 6.2. When E N a is less than 0.1, for
example, the properties of a mixed Na/Ca-montmorillonite do not differ
much from those of Ca-montmorillonite and the quasicrystal should
remain a stable entity. When E N a is larger than 0.6, however, the mixed
Na/Ca-montmorillonite exhibits properties that are indistinguishable from
those of a Na-montmorillonite and a quasicrystal should be an inherently
unstable structural unit.
When Na- and Ca-montmorillonite are mixed together and quasicrystal
formation is favored, it is likely that the thermodynamic driving force is a
negative enthalpy change (heat release). Since the quasicrystal represents a
more ordered local arrangement of unit montmorillonite layers than what
exists in a dilute suspension of Na-montmorillonite , the entropy change
accompanying quasicrystal formation should be negative. This result in
turn means that the entropy contribution to the Gibbs energy change for
QUASICRYSTAL
FORMATION.
205
206
Eq. 5.9. In differential form this charge density obeys the equation
RT
zpdpj
-cjZjFexp(-ZjFl/J/RT)dl/J
-pjdl/J
(6.5)
where pj is the charge density at some point x and l/J is the corresponding
inner potential. Upon summing both sides of Eq. 6.5 over all species and
making use of the well-known relation for the osmotic pressure of an ideal
electrolyte solution,
RT}2 (pJZjF)
(6.6)
dP + pdl/J
(6.7a)
= 0
where p is given by Eq. 5.9. Since l/J(x) is related to the volumetric charge
density, p(x), through the Poisson equation (Eq. 3.26), Eq. 6.7a can be
transformed, with the help of Eqs. 3.26 and 5.4b, to the expression
1
(dl/J)
-d [ P(x) - -eoD
dx
2
dx
2] = 0
(6.7b)
(6.7c)
dP
= -
Po
fc"'m
p(l/J)dl/J
(6.8)
where Po is the pressure in the aqueous solution far from the two planes,
where l/J(x) may be set equal to 0, and l/Jm == l/J(d/2). Equation 5.9 can be
introduced into Eq. 6.8 to yield the result
r;
= Po
+ RT}2 cj[exp(-ZjFl/Jm/RT) - 1]
(6.9)
207
l/J(d/2) = l/Jm
(6.10)
}1/2
(6.11)
Equation 6.11, like Eq. 5.8, can be solved analytically for a single symmetric electrolyte that dissociates completely. 17 However, the result is only a
formal expression in terms of elliptic integrals that must be evaluated from
mathematical tables." Alternatively, one can transform Eq. 6.11 into an
analog of Eq. 5.11a:
dy
dx
= -sgn(Y)K[2(cosh
Zy - cosh ZYm)]1/2
(6.12)
u(O) = -sgn(yo)
8 0 DRTK
(6.13)
208
example, Eqs, 5.42, 5.43, 5.44, and 5.46 can be used to connect O"p with
1/1(0), given that measured values of O"max and the K~(int) (i = 1,2) are
available.
'
The mathematical effort to solve Eq. 6.12 is reduced dramatically if the
condition ZKdj2 ~ 1 obtains. In this case, the approximate equation for
I/I(x) in Eq. 5.14 can be applied immediately to calculate I/Im as the
superposition of I/I(dj2) for each charged planer'?
RT
(6.15)
where a = tanh (ZFI/I(0)/4R T). Since ZKd/2 is very large, I/Im is very small
in this approximation and Eq. 6.9 must be expanded in a MacLaurin series
in I/Im to the lowest nonvanishing order to be consistent:
Pm = Po + cRT(ZFl/lm/RT)2
= Po + 64a 2cRT exp( -ZKd)
(6.16)
j:
12
64a 2
= ZK cRT exp(-ZKd)
where 2g has been substituted for din Eq. 6.16 as a dummy variable of
integration.
Calculated values of Pm based on Eq. 6.9 and the integration of Eq. 6.12
agree semiquantitatively with experimentally determined reversible curves
of the swelling pressure of Na-montmorillonite versus the interplane
separation.j" These curves, which apply to the clay mineral suspended in
dilute solutions of NaCl, agree fairly well with the theoretical prediction
obtained with either O"p(= -0.118 C'm- 2) or 1/1(0) (= -0.25 V) held
fixed. The two theoretical curves are identical for d > 1 nm. A more direct
test of the DDL model of the electrostatic force is shown in Fig. 6.3. 21 The
graphs are semilogarithmic plots of the repulsive force per unit radius
(potential energy per unit area) between two muscovite cylinders in
contact with a solution of KN0 3 . The force between the two mica planes is
measured through the deflection of a spring attached to one of them, and
the interplane distance is measured by interferometry. The lines through
the data points in Fig. 6.3 represent Eq. 6.17 (with Z = 1). The excellent
agreement between experiment and theory is convincing evidence for the
applicability of DDL theory in 1: 1 electrolyte solutions at low concentrations. At higher concentrations of KN0 3 (above 10 mol, m'-3), however,
209
104 .___-.....---,.---.--..,.--"""T""-~-_,_-_..,.-_,--.___-~-_r_...,
MUSCOVITE IN KN0 3
20C
pH6
O.lmol m- 3
o I mol m- 3
10
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
d (nrn)
Figure 6.3. Measured values of the force F between two muscovite cylinders of
radius R as a function of their separation d in aqueous solutions of KN0 3 The ratio
F/2TrR equals the potential energy per unit area for the interaction between the two
mica surfaces. 21
210
dipole moment of the molecule and R is the distance between the center of
the molecule and the point at which E is evaluated.P This electric field in
turn induces a dipole moment J-L2 = aE = aJ-LdR 3 in another nonpolar
molecule separated from the first by the distance R, where a is the
polarizability of the second molecule. The correlation between the two
instantaneous dipole moments produces the potential energy
V = - J-LIJ-L2/R 3 according to classical electrostatics. Therefore, the average potential energy of interaction is V = - aJ-LilR 6 and the corresponding
force is F = -6aJ-LIIR 7 . This force is known as the van der Waals
dispersion force. For small values of intermolecular separation, this force
can be large, although it cannot compete with the much stronger covalent
interactions. At large intermolecular separations it is much smaller than
the coulomb force.
Suppose that a nonpolar molecule confronts the planar surface of a solid
comprising N of the same molecules per unit volume. The van der Waals
dispersion potential energy for the interaction between the single molecule
and the solid can be calculated with the equatiorr'"
(6.18)
Equation 6.18 is interpreted as follows. The single molecule is positioned a
distance z from the planar surface and a distance R = [(z + ()2 + p 2F/2
from a point within a ring-shaped element of the solid (Fig. 6.4). The
volume of this element of solid is dr = pd({Jdpd( in cylindrical polar
coordinates. The van der Waals potential energy between the single
molecule and the molecules in the volume element is
C
dV(z) = -R 6 N dr
(ex> (ex>
V(z)
-2TTNC
Jo Jo
-TTNC (ex>
pdpd(
[(z + ()2 + p2j3
d(
Jo (z + ()4
-TTNC
6z 3
Now suppose that the single molecule is embedded in a solid just like the
one it confronts. Within a thin slab of thickness dz that lies parallel to the
planar surface of the solid. there are Ndz molecules per unit area. and so
211
ATOM
SOLID
Figure 6.4. Cylindrical polar coordinates to define the spatial relationship between
an atom located a distance R away from a ring-shaped element of volume located a
distance ( inside a solid with a planar surface.
the potential energy per unit area between two opposing solids a distance d
apart is23
CPvw(d)
=N
-
d""
-7r:
V(z)dz
A
121Td 2
C L"" ::
(6.20)
212
'PRvw(d)
= - 3d 3
(6.21)
(6.22)
213
o ....-----.-------.----::-........--....-0
-50
( \J
IE
-100
"'?
--::l
-
"'C
-ft
-150
MUSCOVITE
I:::
C\J
KN0 3
Co(N0 3)2
-200
....L.-
10
---I
15
d (nrn)
Figure 6.5. Measured values of the van der Waals potential energy per unit area,
'Pvw(d) , for opposing muscovite surfaces separated by a distance d in aqueous
solutions of KN0 3 and Ca(N03h at concentrations from 10 to lcP mol m ~3 and at
pH 6. 21
measured value and the theoretical estimate (Eq. 6.22) of this parameter,
since the latter is based on the properties of water alone in the aqueous
phase. For interplane separations larger than 7 nm, Fig. 6.5 suggests that
the retarded van der Waals force is important. The scatter in the
experimental data prevented a conclusive test of Eq. 6.21, however.
The electrostatic and van der Waals dispersion
forces retain the common attribute of depending on the nature of liquid
water in the aqueous solution phase only through the macroscopic dielectric constant. In the case of the electrostatic force as exemplified in
Eq. 6.16, the only dependence on the properties of liquid water comes
through the parameter 1<, which, as shown in connection with Eq. 5.11, is a
function of the bulk (zero-frequency) dielectric constant, D. Similarly, for
THE SOLVATION FORCE.
214
215
of Na-montmorillonite particles aligned perpendicularly to their crystallographic c axes in a NaCI background solution.j" In a solution of
0.1 mol, m -3 NaCl, the reversible experimental compression curve (pressure applied versus interplanar separation) for Na-montmorillonite was
observed to always lie significantly above the theoretical compression
curve, based on Eqs. 6.9 and 6.11 and the derivative of 'Pvw(d) in Eq. 6.20,
when the interplanar separation decreased from 5.0 to 1.8 nm. This
positive deviation of the experimental compression curve became even
larger after the clay adsorbed n-dodecyl hexaoxyethylene glycol
monoether, a nonionic surfactant compound that reduces both the electrostatic and the van der Waals force. The conclusion drawn was that an
additional force must be significant at interplanar separations below 5 nm.
As with the electrostatic and van der Waals dispersion forces, a more
precise characterization of the solvation force has come from direct
experimental measurements of the net force per unit radius (energy per
unit area) between opposing muscovite surfaces.j? Figure 6.6 shows this
Figure 6.6. The net force per unit radius between muscovite surfaces in contract
with an aqueous solution of KBr at pH 6.2. 28 The solid line represents the
contribution of electrostatic and van der Waals forces.
MUSCOVITE
0.5 mol m- 3 KBr
a::
<,
LL.
ELECTROSTATIC ~
PLUS VAN DER WAALS
FORCES
102
10
20
30
d(nm)
40
50
216
a
21T exp( -dj8)
(6.23)
where a and 8 are empirical constants. From this kind of curve fitting, it is
found that a = 0.03 to 0.05 N 'm- 1 and 8 = 0.3 to 1.0 nm. 27 ,29 The
solvation force decays approximately exponentially with a decay length,
8, near 1 nm, in agreement with the qualitative expectations outlined
above.
Several qualitative properties of the solvation force between the siloxane
surfaces of muscovite have been determined experimentallyr"
1. In the temperature range 20 to 65C, there is no change in either a or 8
in Eq. 6.23. This lack of temperature dependence ofthe solvation force
is consonant with the very small temperature dependence of the Gibbs
energy change for cation solvation in aqueous solutions.
2. The solvation force diminishes as the concentration of the aqueous
solution between the mica surfaces decreases. When the concentration
drops below 0.1 mol, m -3, the solvation force begins to disappear
altogether.
3. The solvation force is not detectable when the principal cation in the
aqueous solution between the mica surfaces is the proton.
4. In the presence of 1: 1 electrolyte solutions at pH 5 to 6, the solvation
force makes an appearance at a threshold concentration, whose value
depends on the metal cation in the electrolyte. These threshold
concentrations are 60 (Li), 10 (Na), 0.04 (K), and 1 (Cs) mol m -3 for
Group IA metals. Thus a in Eq. 6.23 is both cation- and concentrationdependent.
These experimental properties of the solvation force are consistent with
the hypothesis that exchangeable cations, either in outer-sphere surface
complexes or in a diffuse swarm, determine the nature of the solvation
force between siloxane surfaces. (Exchangeable cations in inner-sphere
surface complexes can also playa role if they are partially solvated.) If the
proton is the principal exchangeable cation (e.g., when the pH or the
electrolyte concentration is very low), desolvation seems to require no
more than the presence of the van der Waals force. For monovalent metal
cations, the threshold concentration at which the solvation force appears
increases as the selectivity of the siloxane surface for the cation relative to
217
potassium ions decreases (Fig. 4.4). This inverse correlation suggests that a
certain fraction of the K+ cations in the siloxane ditrigonal cavities of the
muscovite surface must be replaced by metal cations in outer-sphere
complexes and/ or the diffuse ion swarm in order for the solvation force to
be manifest. Since the proton is always a third exchangeable cation when
K+ ~ M+ (M = Li, Na, or Cs) exchange occurs, the appearance of the
solvation force should also depend on the selectivity of muscovite for the
proton in the ternary system K+-M+-H+-muscovite. Clearly, the chemical master variables that determine the appearance of the solvation force
are the composition of the aqueous solution between the mica surfaces and
the selectivity coefficients for K+-M+, K+-H+, and M+-H+ exchange.
Since the solvation force is defined as the difference between the observed
net force and the net van der Waals plus electrostatic force, as calculated
with Eqs. 6.9,6.11, and 6.20, it follows from the foregoing discussion that
Eq. 6.12 should be integrated in the context of an appropriate surface
complexation model (e.g., the triple layer model) to provide the most
accurate theoretical estimate of the electrostatic force. 30
6.3. THE STABILITY OF SOIL COLLOIDAL SUSPENSIONS
218
The Schulze-Hardy rule is illustrated in Table 6.2 for five important soil
minerals." Mean values of the ccc extracted from published studies,
together with standard deviations reflecting the range of ccc values
reported, are presented in the table for ions whose absolute valence is
equal to 1 or 2. For the hydrous oxides, the particle charge is positive and
the coagulating ions are anions; for the phyllosilicates, the particle charge
is negative and the coagulating ions are cations. The ratio of ccc values for
IZI = 2 and !ZI = 1 is given in the fourth column of the table. These ratios
may be compared with a theoretical value of r 6 = 1/64 = 0.0156, which
is derived below. It is evident from Table 6.2 that the Schulze-Hardy rule
provides a semiquantitative prediction of relative ccc values for soil
colloidal suspensions. The inverse sixth power of the coagulating ion
valence appears to be a reasonable factor for relating ccc values.
A theoretical derivation of the Schulze-Hardy rule can be developed on
the basis of the interparticle forces described in Sec. 6.2. Each of the three
forces is associated with a potential energy that contributes additively to
the total potential energy between two planar particle surfaces a distance d
apart. If <p(d) is the total potential energy per unit area of planar surface,
then
(6.24)
and if a symmetric electrolyte is present such that ZKd/2 remains large,
64a 2
A
<p(d) = ZK cRT exp( -ZKd) - 127Td2
according to Eqs. 6.17,6.20, and 6.23. It is assumed in Eq. 6.25 that dis
Table 6.2. Critical coagulation concentrations for colloidal suspensions of soil
minerals35
Soil
mineral
Al hydrous oxide
Fe hydrous oxide
Illitic mica
Kaolinite
Montmorillonite
9
2
11
4
6
ccc(121 = 2)
ccc (121 = 1)
0.010
0.019
0.003
0.030
0.015
0.0156
219
large enough to make Eq. 6.17 applicable but not so large as to require a
retarded van der Waals dispersion force (Eq.6.21). Since Eq.6.17
approximates 'Pm(d) within about 20 per cent for d > I/ZK and 'Pvw(d)
begins to take on retarded character for d above 7 nm, 17 ,21 the range of
d-values over which Eq. 6.25 should be applicable is (at 298 K) 9.6/ zJC
< d < 7 nm, where c is the electrolyte concentration in moles per cubic
meter. If the ccc values in the second column of Table 6.2 are substituted
for c, the lower limit of d lies between 1 and 4 nm. If the ccc values in the
third column of the table are used, the required lower limit of d generally
exceeds the upper limit of 7 nm (e.g., for c = 0.5 mol m -3, the lower limit
of d is 6.8 nm). Therefore, 'Pvw(d) is better represented by Eq. 6.21 than
by Eq. 6.20 in this case. On the other hand, 'Pm(d) calculated from the
Poisson-Boltzmann equation is not very accurate for bivalent ions, and the
value of the retarded Hamaker constant in Eq. 6.21 is not known
accurately for soil minerals. These facts suggest that Eq. 6.25 can serve as
well as any available expression to illustrate the relationship between the
ccc and ionic valence in a simple and qualitative fashionr'"
Since 'P(d) comprises both positive and negative terms, it is expected to
show a relative maximum at some d value for many possible choices of
Z, K, a, A, a, and 8. This kind of mathematical behavior is illustrated in
Fig. 6.7 for the case Z = 1, K = 0.329 nm", a = 0.462, A = 2.210- 20 J,
a = 0.05 J . m -2, and 8 = 1 nm. These values are appropriate for a
stable suspension of illitic mica in 10 mol-rn"? NaCI at 298 K. 29 Figure 6.7
Figure 6.7. Total potential energy per unit area for the interaction of two charged
parallel phyllosilicate surfaces, with 10 mol m -3 NaCl interposed between them,
according to Eq. 6.25. See also the solid curve in Fig. 6.6.
Interplanar separation,
-4
220
({J(d)
(a({Jjad)ccc
=0
(c = ccc)
(6.26)
to derive a relationship between the ccc and Z. Equations 6.26 state that
both ((J(d) and its first derivative with respect to d vanish when c in
Eq. 6.25 equals the ccc. The first condition implies the equation
64a2
A
ZK ccc RT exp( -ZKcd) = 127Td 2
c
a
-
(6.27a)
al5
27T exp( -dl({J)
(6.27b)
where Kc = J {3 ccc = 0.1041 Jccc nm " at 298 K with the ccc in moles per
cubic meter. The right side of Eq. 6.27a must be positive in order that the
value of the ccc remain positive. This requirement is met for sufficiently
small values of d (since a? grows arbitrarily large and exp( -dl 5) remains
finite as d goes to zero) as well as for sufficiently large values of d (since d- 2
approaches zero more slowly than exp( -dl 5) as d goes to infinity. In some
intermediate range of d values, the right side of Eq. 6.27a can be negative
if the hydration force dominates the van der Waals dispersion force. The
colloidal particles maintain a stable suspension so long as this condition
persists.
In DLVO theory, it is customary to assume that the electolyte concentration and suspended particle configuration are such that the van der
Waals dispersion force dominates the hydration force to the extent that the
latter can be neglected.l" Under these conditions of electrolyte concentration and particle configuration (which differ for different kinds of soil
colloid and background electrolyte), the second term on the right side of
Eq. 6.27 is dropped and the two expressions are divided to derive the result
z-, =
(6.28)
The substitution of Eq, 6.2H into Eq. 6.27u (without the term in u) thcn
221
.3/ _ (30721T
a RT) -3
KC eee e2
A Z
2
or
2RT)2
_(30721Ta
eee Z
2
e f3
3/2
-6
(6.29)
I'
..
222
223
224
Effects
Promotes
stability
Promotes
coagulation
Extent of diffuse
double layer;
solvation force
Changes UH
Changes up
When increased
When decreased
pH = PZC
up = 0
pH
Changes up and/or
particle association
With polymer
bridges
By electrostatic
repulsion
up
=f PZC
=f 0
concentrations. If polymer adsorption is significant, coagulation by polymer bridging may take place at extremely low electrolyte concentrations
or the colloidal suspension may be stabilized by the electrostatic force
between the coatings of adsorbed polymers. Which phenomenon occurs
depends on pH, on electrolyte concentration, and on the configuration of
the adsorbed polymer ion.
The principal surface chemical factors that determine the stability of soil
colloidal suspensions are summarized in Table 6.3. Surface reactions
affect colloid stability through changes in the strength of the repulsive
electrostatic and solvation forces and, if macromolecules are involved,
through changes in particle association mechanisms. Coagulation is the
result of a reduction in the efficacy of the repulsive electrostatic and
solvation forces, whether through charge-screening, surface complexation, or stereochemically induced particle bridging.
NOTES
1. The concept of the quasicrystal is distinguished from that of the tactoid in
J. P. Quirk and L.A.G. Aylmore, Domains and quasicrystalline regions in clay
systems, Soil Sci. Soc. Arn. I. 35: 652 (1971).
2. K. Norrish and J. P. Quirk, Crystalline swelling of montmorillonite, Nature
173: 225 (1954). A. M. Posner and J. P. Quirk, The adsorption of water from
concentrated electrolyte solutions by montmorillonite and illite, Proc. Royal
Soc. 278A:35 (1964). A. M. Posner and J. P Quirk, Changes in basal spacing
of montmorillonite in electrolyte solutions, I. Colloid Sci. 19: 798 (1964).
3. See, e.g., G. Sposito and R. Prost, Structure of water adsorbed on smectites,
Chern. Rev. 82: 553 (1982).
4. D. J. Cebula, R. K. Thomas, and J. W. White, Small-angle neutron scattering
from dilute aqueous dispersions of clay, l.eS. Faraday 176: 314 (1980).
R. Hight, W. L. Higdon, and P. W. Schmidt, Small-angle scattering study of
sodium montmorillonite clay suspensions, J. Chern. Phys. 33: 1656 (1960).
R. Hight, W. T. Higdon, H.C.H. Darley, and P. W. Schmidt, Small-angle
X-ray scattering from montmorillonite clay suspensions: II, J. Chern. Phys. 37:
502 (1962).
225
226
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
227
228
B. W. Ninham, Hierarchies of forces: The last 150 years, Advan. Colloid. Interface
Sci. 16: 3 (1982). Another must-reading article, this one dealing with the limitations
of interparticle force theories that assume the liquid phase to be a continuum
dielectric.
H. van Olphen, An Introduction to Clay Colloid Chemistry, 2nd edn. Wiley, New
York, 1977. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 7 of this standard monograph form a useful
adjunct to the present chapter as regards phyllosilicate suspensions.
J.T.G. Overbeek, Strong and weak points in the interpretation of colloid stability,
Advan. Colloid Interface Sci. 16: 17 (1982). An overview of the status of DLVO
theory by one of the Starting Four.
E.J.W. Verwey and J.T.G. Overbeek, Theory of the Stability of Lyophobic
Colloids. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1948. Part II of this classic monograph should be
read by the mathematically minded as a comparison to Sec. 6.2.
Avogadro constant
NA
Boltzmann constant
kB
1.38054 x 10- 23 J K- 1
f3
Faraday constant
8.3143 J K- 1 mol"!
Permittivity of vacuum
8.85419 x 10- 12 C2
r '
m- 1
INDEX
Adsorbate, 26
Adsorbed water, 58, 69
excess acidity, 71
phyllosilicates, 70
relation to ionic potential, 28
Adsorption, 25,29, 113, 122
defined, 113
isotherm, 116-117,122
kinetics, 127-28, 140
metal cations, 128
negative, 31,106,109
organic matter, 143
oxyanions, 138
pH effect, 134
precipitation versus, 122-28
surface excess, 113
Adsorption edge, 135, 139, 175, 183
Adsorption envelope, 139-40
Adsorption isotherm, 116-17
Adsorptive, 26
Aggregation, 217
Aluminol group, 18, 40
Anion exchange, 143-44
Anion exchange capacity, 36, 80
Chlorite, 6-7
weathering sequence, 21
Coagulation, 217
Colloidal stability, 217-24
and complex formation, 221-24
DLVOtheory, 220
factors affecting, 224
Constant capacitance model, 169-77
anion adsorption, 176-77
metal adsorption, 174-76
protonation, 170-74
PZNPC, 173
Coprecipitation, 8, 125
CPB method, 29
Critical coagulation concentration, 217,
222
complexation effects, 222
DLVO theory, 220-21
measurements, 218
polymer effects, 223
Schulze-Hardy rule, 218
232
Electrochemical potential, 88-90, 186
Electrokinetic phenomena, 94-106
convection current, 95
general equation, 97
Electrokinetic plane of shear, 94, 105
Electro-osmosis, 101, 103
Electrophoretic mobility, 83,97,99-100
defined, 97
quasicrystal formation, 203
relation to PZC, 98
surface complexes, 99-100,175-76
surface hydrolysis, 136-37, 183-84
Electrostatic force, 205-9
DDL model, 206-9
measurements, 208-9
Elovich equation, 127-28,140-41
Exclusion volume, 31,107,202
calcium montmorillonite, 202
defined, 31, 107
diffuse double layer theory, 31-33
molecular interpretation, 107
quasicrystal formation, 34-35,202-3
relation to specific surface area, 32, 107
sodium montmorillonite, 33-34
Flocculation, 217
Halloysite, 58
Hamaker constant, 211-12
model equation, 212
retarded, 212
H-curve isotherm, 116-17
HSAB principle, 129
Humic substance, 9
adsorption mechanisms, 143-47
functional groups, 18-19
metal adsorption, 135
Hydrogen honding, 14~
INDEX
233
INDEX
evidencefor, 139-41
organic matter adsorption, 147
surface complex model, 165,169
Liquid water, 54
dynamic structure, 48-49
Navier-Stokes equation, 95
Negative adsorption, 31, 106
Babcock model, 109
DDLtheory, 107
Neutron scattering, 51, 199, 221
Quasicrystal, 22,24-25,34,100,198-205
defined, 24, 198
enthalpy effect, 204-5
equilibrium structure, 198-204
formation, 204-5
neutron scattering data, 200-201
smectite, 198-199
234
INDEX
96