Humic Nanoparticles at the Oxide-Water Interface: Interactions with Phosphate Ion Adsorption

In this work, data for the interactions between humic acid (HA) or fulvic acid (FA) with phosphate ions at the surface of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) are presented. The results show very clear differences between HA and FA in their interactions with phosphate at goethite surface. HA is strongly bound to goethite but surprisingly does not strongly affect the phosphate binding, whereas FA is less strongly bound, but these molecules have a very large effect on the phosphate adsorption, and vice versa. Phosphate adsorption to goethite in the presence of adsorbed HA or FA can be well predicted with the LCD model (ligand and charge distribution). According to the model calculations, the nature of the interactions between HA or FA with phosphate at goethite surface is mainly electrostatic. The stronger effects of FA on phosphate adsorption are caused by its spatial location which is closer to the oxide surface, and as a consequence, the electrostatic interactions between adsorbed FA particles and phosphate ions are much stronger than for HA particles. This is the first time that effects of natural organic matter (NOM) on an anion adsorption are predicted successfully using an integrated ion-binding model for oxides and for humics that accounts for chemical heterogeneity of NOM.