Results from enriched (57)Fe isotope tracer experiments have shown that atom exchange can occur between structural Fe in Fe(III) oxides and aqueous Fe(II) with no formation of secondary minerals or change in particle size or shape. Here we derive a mass balance model to quantify the extent of Fe atom exchange between goethite and aqueous Fe(II) that accounts for different Fe pool sizes. We use this model to reinterpret our previous work and to quantify the influence of particle size and pH on extent of goethite exchange with aqueous Fe(II). Consistent with our previous interpretation, substantial exchange of goethite occurred at pH 7.5 (≈ 90%) and we observed little effect of particle size between nanogoethite (average size of 81 × 11 nm; ≈ 110 m(2)/g) and microgoethite (average size of 590 × 42 nm; ≈ 40 m(2)/g). Despite ≈ 90% of the bulk goethite exchanging at pH 7.5, we found no change in mineral phase, average particle size, crystallinity, or reactivity after reaction with aqueous Fe(II). At a lower pH of 5.0, no net sorption of Fe(II) was observed and significantly less exchange occurred accounting for less than the estimated proportion of surface Fe atoms in the particles. Particle size appears to influence the amount of exchange at pH 5.0 and we suggest that aggregation and surface area may play a role. Results from sequential chemical extractions indicate that (57)Fe accumulates in extracted Fe(III) goethite components. Isotopic compositions of the extracts indicate that a gradient of (57)Fe develops within the goethite with more accumulation of (57)Fe occurring in the more easily extracted Fe(III) that may be nearer to the surface.

Despite the importance of Fe redox cycling in clay minerals, the mechanism and location of electron transfer remain unclear. More specifically, there is some controversy whether electron transfer can occur through both basal and edge surfaces. Here we used Mössbauer spectroscopy combined with selective chemical extractions to study electron transfer from Fe(II) sorbed to basal planes and edge OH-groups of clay mineral NAu-1. Fe(II) sorbed predominantly to basal planes at pH values below 6.0 and to edge OH-groups at pH value 7.5. Significant electron transfer occurred from edge OH-group bound Fe(II) at pH 7.5, whereas electron transfer from basal plane-sorbed Fe(II) to structural Fe(III) in clay mineral NAu-1 at pH 4.0 and 6.0 occurred but to a much lower extent than from edge-bound Fe(II). Mössbauer hyperfine parameters for Fe(II)-reacted NAu-1 at pH 7.5 were consistent with structural Fe(II), whereas values found at pH 4.0 and 6.0 were indicative of binding environments similar to basal plane-sorbed Fe(II). Reference experiments with Fe-free synthetic montmorillonite SYn-1 provided supporting evidence for the assignment of the hyperfine parameters to Fe(II) bound to basal planes and edge OH-groups. Our findings demonstrate that electron transfer to structural Fe in clay minerals can occur from Fe(II) sorbed to both basal planes and edge OH-groups. These findings require us to reassess the mechanisms of abiotic and microbial Fe reduction in clay minerals as well as the importance of Fe-bearing clay minerals as a renewable source of redox equivalents in subsurface environments.

Reductive transformation reactions involving mineral-bound Fe2+ species are of great relevance for the fate of groundwater contaminants. For clay minerals, which are ubiquitously present in soils and sediments, the factors determining the reactivity of structural Fe2+ and surface-bound Fe2+ are not well understood. We investigated the reactivity and availability of Fe2+ species in suspensions of chemically reduced montmorillonite (SAz-1) as well as in suspensions of oxidized and reduced nontronite (SWa-1, ferruginous smectite) using two acetylnitrobenzene isomers as reactive probe compounds. The analyses of the reduction kinetics of the two nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) suggested that Fe2+ bound in the octahedral layer of reduced smectites is the predominant reductant and that electron transfer presumably occurs via basal siloxane planes. In contrast, reduction of NACs by Fe2+ associated with oxidized nontronite is orders of magnitude slower than reduction by octahedral Fe2+. Reductive transformation and reversible, nonreactive electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexation of NACs at basal smectite surfaces occur simultaneously at reduced montmorillonite exhibiting low structural iron content. In contrast, EDA complexation was not observed in suspensions of reduced iron-rich nontronite. Due to the similar reduction rate constants measured for the two NACs, we propose that the (re)- generation of octahedral Fe2+ sites, e.g., by electron transfer and/or Fe rearrangement within the octahedral nontronite layers, partly limited the rate of contaminant transformation. Since iron in clay minerals is available for microbial reduction, our study suggests that octahedral Fe2+ can contribute to abiotic contaminant transformation in anoxic environments.

Compound-specific analysis of nitrogen isotope fractionation is an important tool for assessing transformation pathways of N-containing organic contaminants. We investigated 15N-fractionation during the abiotic reduction of a series of nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) with intrinsic reactivities covering almost 6 orders of magnitude to evaluate substituent effects on 15N kinetic isotope effects, KIEN. Insights into reaction mechanisms and isotopic elementary reactions of NAC reduction were obtained from comparison of experimental results to density-functional theory (DFT) calculations of intrinsic KIEN. Apparent KIEN values for reduction of NACs by structural Fe(II) in octahedral layers of an iron-rich clay mineral were substantial (average +la of 1.038 +/- 0.003), independent of the NACs' reactivity and ring substituent, and larger than reported previously for reduction by Fe(II) species bound to Fe(III)(oxy)hydroxides and mercaptojuglone species (1.031 +/- 0.002). DFT-calculations accounting for semiclassical contributions and quantum-mechanical tunneling yielded a KIEN for N-O bond cleavage between 1.031 and 1.041, showed no substituent effect, and thus agreed well with experimental observations. Calculated transition-state structures of NAC reduction intermediates were consistent with H2O elimination from substituted N,N-dihydroxyanilines as the predominant 15N-fractionating elementary reaction. The absence of substituent effects on the apparent KIEN of NAC reduction may simplify the practical application of 15N-fractionation data for the quantification of contaminant transformation in the environment.

Structural Fe(II) in clay minerals is an important source of electron equivalents for the reductive transformation of contaminants in anoxic environments. We investigated which factors control the reactivity of Fe(II) in smectites including total Fe content Fe(II)/total Fe ratio, and excess negative charge localization using 10 nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) as reactive probe molecules. Based on evidence from this work and previous spectroscopic studies on Fe redox reactions in iron-rich smectites, we propose a kinetic model for quantifying the reactivity, abundance, and interconversion rates of two distinct Fe(II) sites in the minerals' octahedral sheet. Excellent agreement between observed biphasic NAC reduction kinetics and model fits points toward existence of two types of Fe(II) sites exhibiting reactivities that differ by 3 orders of magnitude in iron-rich ferruginous smectite (SWa-1) and Olberg montmorillonite. Low structural Fe content, as found in Wyoming montmorillonite (SWy-2), impedes the formation of highly reactive Fe sites and results in pseudo-first order kinetics of NAC reduction that originate from the presence of a single type of Fe(II) species of even lower reactivity. Similar correlations of one-electron reduction potentials of the NACs vs their second order reduction rate constants for all smectite suspensions suggest that contaminant-Fe(II) interactions were identical in all smectite minerals.

The main arsenic mitigation measures in Bangladesh, well-switching and deep tube wells, have reduced As exposure, but water treatment is important where As-free water is not available. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) based SONO household filters, developed in Bangladesh, remove As by corrosion of locally available inexpensive surplus iron and sand filtration in two buckets. We investigated As removal in SONO filters in the field and laboratory, covering a range of typical groundwater concentrations (in mg/L) of As (0.14-0.96), Fe (0-17), P (0-4.4), Ca (45-162), and Mn (0-2.8). Depending on influent Fe(II) concentrations, 20-80% As was removed in the top sand layer, but As removal to safe levels occurred in the ZVI-layer of the first bucket. Residual As, Fe, and Mn were removed after re-aeration in the sand of the second bucket. New and over 8-year-old filters removed As to <50 μg/L and mostly to <10 μg/L and Mn to <0.2 mg/L. Vertical concentration profiles revealed formation of Fe(II) by corrosion of Fe(0) with O2 and incorporation of As into forming amorphous Fe phases in the composite iron matrix (CIM) of newer filters and predominantly magnetite in older filters. As mass balances indicated that users filtered less than reported volumes of water, pointing to the need for more educational efforts. All tested SONO filters provided safe drinking water without replacement for up to over 8 years of use.

Despite substantial experimental evidence for Fe(II)-Fe(III) oxide electron transfer, computational chemistry calculations suggest that oxidation of sorbed Fe(II) by goethite is kinetically inhibited on structurally perfect surfaces. We used a combination of Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, synchrotron X-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (XAS/XMCD) spectroscopies to investigate whether Fe(II)-goethite electron transfer is influenced by defects. Specifically, Fe L-edge and O K-edge XAS indicates that the outermost few Angstroms of goethite synthesized by low temperature Fe(III) hydrolysis is iron deficient relative to oxygen, suggesting the presence of defects from Fe vacancies. This nonstoichiometric goethite undergoes facile Fe(II)-Fe(III) oxide electron transfer, depositing additional goethite consistent with experimental precedent. Hydrothermal treatment of this goethite, however, appears to remove defects, decrease the amount of Fe(II) oxidation, and change the composition of the oxidation product. When hydrothermally treated goethite was ground, surface defect characteristics as well as the extent of electron transfer were largely restored. Our findings suggest that surface defects play a commanding role in Fe(II)-goethite redox interaction, as predicted by computational chemistry. Moreover, it suggests that, in the environment, the extent of this interaction will vary depending on diagenetic history, local redox conditions, as well as being subject to regeneration via seasonal fluctuations.

Redox processes of structural Fe in clay minerals play an important role in biogeochemical cycles and for the dynamics of contaminant transformation in soils and aquifers. Reactions of Fe(II)/Fe(III) in clay minerals depend on a variety of mineralogical and environmental factors, which make the assessment of Fe redox reactivity challenging. Here, we use middle and near infrared (IR) spectroscopy to identify reactive structural Fe(II) arrangements in four smectites that differ in total Fe content, octahedral cationic composition, location of the negative excess charge, and configuration of octahedral hydroxyl groups. Additionally, we investigated the mineral properties responsible for the reversibility of structural alterations during Fe reduction and re-oxidation. For Wyoming montmorillonite (SWy-2), a smectite of low structural Fe content (2.8 wt%), we identified octahedral AlFe(II)-OH as the only reactive Fe(II) species, while high structural Fe content (>12 wt%) was prerequisite for the formation of multiple Fe(II)-entities (dioctahedral AlFe(II)-OH, MgFe(II)-OH, Fe(II)Fe(II)-OH, and trioctahedral Fe(II)Fe(II)Fe(II)-OH) in iron-rich smectites Ö lberg montmorillonite, and ferruginous smectite (SWa-1), as well as in synthetic nontronite. Depending on the overall cationic composition and the location of excess charge, different reactive Fe(II) species formed during Fe reduction in iron-rich smectites, including tetrahedral Fe(II) groups in synthetic nontronite. Trioctahedral Fe(II) domains were found in tetrahedrally charged ferruginous smectite and synthetic nontronite in their reduced state while these Fe(II) entities were absent in Ö lberg montmorillonite, which exhibits an octahedral layer charge. Fe(III) reduction in iron-rich smectites was accompanied by intense dehydroxylation and structural rearrangements, which were only partially reversible through re-oxidation. Re-oxidation of Wyoming montmorillonite, in contrast, restored the original mineral structure. Fe(II) oxidation experiments with nitroaromatic compounds as reactive probes were used to link our spectroscopic evidence to the apparent reactivity of structural Fe(II) in a generalized kinetic model, which takes into account the presence of Fe(II) entities of distinctly different reactivity as well as the dynamics of Fe(II) rearrangements.