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Silicon Incorporation Reduces the Reactivity of Short-range Ordered Aluminosilicates Toward Organic Acids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Katharina R. Lenhardt*
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Chemistry and Pedology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolf-Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Mathias Stein*
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Chemistry and Pedology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolf-Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany Working Group Silicon Biogeochemistry, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Thilo Rennert*
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Chemistry and Pedology, Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolf-Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
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Abstract

The structure and composition of short-range ordered aluminosilicates (SROAS) may control their affinity for organic acids with potential effects on soil organic matter stabilization. Adsorption mechanisms of model organic acids were studied to resolve the effect of Si incorporation. Adsorption of oxalic, salicylic, and octanoic acid on Al-rich (Al:Si = 3.7) and Si-rich (Al:Si = 1.4) SROAS was quantified by analyses of dissolved organic carbon using catalytic high-temperature combustion. The initial pH of 5 and 6.5 increased to 6.3–8.2 during adsorption of oxalic and salicylic acid, demonstrating hydroxyl release by ligand exchange. Minor changes in pH indicated weak interactions of octanoic acid with both SROAS. Adsorbates were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Asymmetric stretching of carboxylate groups at 1720 and 1700 cm–1, and symmetric stretching at 1430 cm–1 evinced the formation of chelate complexes for oxalic acid. An absorption band centered at 1545 cm–1 indicated partial inner-sphere binding of salicylic acid on both SROAS. Silicon-rich SROAS adsorbed 80–90% less than Al-rich SROAS, suggesting that adsorption of oxalic and salicylic acid was controlled by surface aluminol groups. Fast kinetics of oxalate adsorption on Al sites was studied by a conductivity-based stopped-flow technique. Ligand exchange proceeded at a rate constant of 3.5 s–1 (25°C), similar to solute Al complexation, with an activation energy of up to 34.1 kJ mol–1. A slow process with a rate constant of 0.13 s–1 (25°C) was attributed to diffusion of oxalate at the surface or into SROAS particles. As supported by structural characterization of Si-rich SROAS, the much lower susceptibility of Si-rich SROAS to ligand exchange relates to Al speciation. The formation of tetrahedral Al precludes its complexation by carboxyl groups.

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Original Paper
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original work is properly cited.
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Copyright © 2023 The Authors.
Figure 0

Fig. 1 Adsorption of oxalic acid and salicylic acid on short-range ordered aluminosilicates with molar Al:Si ratios of 1.4 (open symbols) and 3.7 (full symbols) at two initial pH values

Figure 1

Table 1 Maximum adsorption (S) of organic acids on two short-range ordered aluminosilicates normalized by Al content (S given in mmol g–1 Al–1) as a function of initial pH, and molar adsorbate-to-Al ratios (Ratio). No octanoic acid was adsorbed at initial pH 6.5

Figure 2

Fig. 2 Adsorption of octanoic acid on two short-range ordered aluminosilicates at initial pH 5

Figure 3

Fig. 3 Time-dependent pH change during adsorption of organic acids (1.2 mmol L–1) on short-range ordered aluminosilicates with molar Al:Si ratios of a 1.4 and b 3.7 at initial pH 5

Figure 4

Fig. 4 Time-dependent conductivity decay due to adsorption of oxalic acid (0.5 mmol L–1) on short-range ordered aluminosilicates (SROAS, Al:Si = 1.4; 1 g L–1) at 25°C. The inset shows the Arrhenius plots for k1 and k2 at SROAS concentrations of 0.5 and 1 g L–1

Figure 5

Table 2 Parameters obtained from fitting a bi-exponential function (Eq. 1) to conductivity decay observed in stopped-flow experiments. ΔK1 and ΔK2 represent relative changes in conductivity, k1 and k2 = rate constants, b = equilibrium conductivity, and R2 is the coefficient of determination. Activation energies (EA) were calculated from a linear fit of ln(k) using the Arrhenius equation (Eq. 2). R2 and level of significance are given in parentheses

Figure 6

Fig. 5 Difference spectra of adsorption complexes formed by interaction of a oxalic and b salicylic acid with short-range ordered aluminosilicates at initial pH 5 obtained by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy. Absorbance is given in arbitrary units (a.u.) relative to absorption bands of Si–O–Al stretching vibrations (1020–970 cm–1) in SROAS

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