EXAFS study of Zn sorption mechanisms on hydrous ferric oxide over extended reaction time.

The sorption species and coordination environment of zinc sorbed on to hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) did not change for aging times up to six months. At an initial concentration of 10(4-) M, Zn formed innersphere surface complexes on the surface of HFO. Zn was tetrahedrally coordinated with oxygen atoms at ZnO bond distance of approximately 1.94-1.97 A with coordination number of approximately 3.8-4.7. In the second shell Zn appeared to be coordinated with Fe with a bond distance of approximately 3.42-3.49 A. At an initial concentration of 10(3-) M, both innersphere and polynuclear complexes were feasible sorption products. The first shell was tetrahedrally coordinated with about four oxygen atoms at a bond distance of 1.96 A. The second shell could be attributed to either ZnFe or ZnZn correlations with almost the same bond distance of 3.42-3.44 A.