Hydrolysis reactions mineral surfaces

The products of hydrolysis and dissociation depend on the pH. In an acid medium, hydrogen sulfide, which has no depressing action, evolves. It is, therefore, necessary to use alkaline circuits in which HS, predominates. These sulfide ions are adsorbed on the copper sulfide mineral surface and react with the surface previously coated with cuprous xanthate. The reaction causes desorption of the collector, and as a result of this desorption the copper sulfide minerals generally become hydrophilic. There is, however, no action of the sulfide ions on molybdenite, and so molybdenite retains its hydrophobic character. 

To be useful in modeling electrolyte sorption, a theory needs to describe hydrolysis and the mineral surface, account for electrical charge there, and provide for mass balance on the sorbing sites. In addition, an internally consistent and sufficiently broad database of sorption reactions should accompany the theory. Of the approaches available, a class known as surface complexation models (e.g., Adamson, 1976 Stumm, 1992) reflect such an ideal most closely. This class includes the double layer model (also known as the diffuse layer model) and the triple layer model (e.g., Westall and Hohl, 1980 Sverjensky, 1993). 

Dissolved iron(III) is (i) an intermediate of the oxidative hydrolysis of Fe(II), and (ii) results from the thermal non-reductive dissolution of iron(III)(hydr)oxides, a reaction that is catalyzed by iron(II) as discussed in Chapter 9. Hence, iron(II) formation in the photic zone may occur as an autocatalytic process (see Chapter 10.4). This is also true for the oxidation of iron(II). As has been discussed in Chapter 9.4, the oxidation of iron(II) by oxygen is greatly enhanced if the ferrous iron is adsorbed at a mineral (or biological) surface. Since mineral surfaces are formed via the oxidative hydrolysis of Fe(II), this reaction proceeds as an autocatalytic process (Sung and Morgan, 1980). Both the rate of photochemical iron(II) formation and the rate of oxidation of iron(II) are strongly pH-dependent the latter increases with... 

Hydrolysis reactions occur by nucleophilic attack at a carbon single bond, involving either the water molecule directly or the hydronium or hydroxyl ion. The most favorable conditions for hydrolysis, e.g. acidic or alkaline solutions, depend on the nature of the bond which is to be cleaved. Mineral surfaces that have Bronsted acidity have been shown to catalyze hydrolysis reactions. Examples of hydrolysis reactions which may be catalyzed by the surfaces of minerals in soils include peptide bond formation by amino acids which are adsorbed on clay mineral surfaces and the degradation of pesticides (see Chapter 22). 

Abiotic organic reactions that may be influenced by mineral surfaces include hydrolysis, elimination, substitution, redox, and polymerization. The effect of the surface may be either to promote (increase the rate of) or to inhibit (decrease the rate of) reactions that may occur in homogeneous solution. In addition, mineral surfaces may promote reactions that do not occur in homogenous solution by selectively concentrating molecules at the mineral surface... 

Table III summarizes the parameters that affect Brrfnsted acid-catalyzed surface reactions. The range of reaction conditions investigated varies widely, from extreme dehydration at high temperatures in studies on the use of clay minerals as industrial catalysts, to fully saturated at ambient temperatures. Table IV lists reactions that have been shown or suggested to be promoted by Br nsted acidity of clay mineral surfaces along with representative examples. Studies have been concerned with the hydrolysis of organophosphate pesticides (70-72), triazines (73), or chemicals which specifically probe neutral, acid-, and base-catalyzed hydrolysis (74). Other reactions have been studied in the context of diagenesis or catagenesis of biological markers (22-24) or of chemical synthesis using clays as the catalysts (34, 36). Mechanistic interpretations of such reactions can be found in the comprehensive review by Solomon and Hawthorne (37).

Rate data for hydrolysis reactions in homogeneous aqueous solutions have been reviewed (79), but application of these data to environmental conditions involving mineral surfaces remains difficult due to the unknown effects sorption may have. Several studies have demonstrated that acid-catalyzed reactions are promoted if the substrate is sorbed at clay surfaces (70-74 and other works reviewed by Theng, 8), but inhibition may also occur if substrate hydrolysis is base-promoted (74). 

The aminosilane coupling agent 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane or y-amino-propyltriethoxy silane—also abbreviated as 3-APS, y-APS, APS or A1100 (Union Carbide)—is widely used to promote adhesion between polyimide thin films and mineral surfaces such as native-oxide silica, alumina and various glass ceramics [1, 2]. The structure of APS and the hydrolysis reaction sire shown in Fig. 1. Typically, dilute aqueous solutions of 0.1 vol% or approximately 0.080 wt % are employed to prime the mineral surface. The mechanism for the interaction of the bifunctional aminosilane with the mineral surface is the subject of much speculation, although it is conjectured by Linde and Gleason [3] that the amine end initially forms an electrostatic bond with surface hydroxyls. Subsequently, possibly as the result of elevated temperatures, the silanol end of the molecule proceeds to form a siloxane-like bond with the surface and the amine... 

A reduction in system pH enhances the solubility of PR, making the precipitation of pyromorphite minerals possible. However, the sorption of Pb decreases sharply as the system pH decreased, producing a sigmoidal function, usually referred to as an adsorption edge, which reflects the affinity of a metal species for a mineral surface (Sposito, 1984). The ability of Pb to form inner-sphere surface complexes is related to the ability of a species in solution to form hydroxides. In fact, it has been shown that surface affinity of metal cations for Fe-oxide and Fe-hydroxide surfaces agrees with their hydrolysis values (Hayes and Katz, 1996). An analogy between solution complexation and surface complexation is represented in the following reactions (Hayes and Katz, 1996) ... 

For salt-type minerals snch as calcite and apatite, the preferential hydrolysis of the surface species and preferential dissolution of ions have been proposed to be the major controlhng mechanisms. Dissolution of ions is often accompanied by reactions with the solution constitutes and possible uptake of the solid. For example, calcite can undergo the following reactions upon contact with water and generate a number of complexes (Somasundaran and Agar, 1967) ... 

Many reactions on surfaces of soils and their constituents are extremely lapid—occurring on microsecond and millisecond time scales. Examples of these include some cation and anion sorption/desorption reactions, ion-exchange processes, reactions involving hydrolysis of soil minerals, and complexation reactions. 

In Eq. [1], protons are shown to be important in determining the equilibrium of the hydrolysis of a silicate mineral. Protons are important factors in determining dissolution rates of silicates, oxides, hydroxides, and hydrous oxides. Because of the relatively high Arrhenius activation energies of surface-controlled reactions, temperature is an especially important factor in determining dissolution rates. Anions that bind to mineral surfaces can... 

Our accumulated knowledge concerning reductive transformations in environmental systems suggests that natural surfaces (e.g., sediments, soils, mineral oxides) play crucial roles in these processes. This is in stark contrast to hydrolysis reactions for which surface effects are limited to a relatively small number of chemicals that have unique functionality. Clearly, the ability to understand, and thus predict reaction rates for reductive transformations in environmental systems will be dependent on our ability to delineate the role that natural surfaces play in the overall process. 

Minerals with Kinetic Dissolution Condition Minerals of this group are considered in everyday life insoluble. Ihey include mostly metal oxides, hydroxides, sulphides and aluminum sihcates. The mechanism of their dissolution is dominated by hydrolysis whose nature depends on the structure and composition of minerals. Their dissolution under any conditions has kinetic condition, i.e., it is controlled by extremely slow chemical reactions of surface complexation. The rate of their dissolution is noticeably lower than 10 ° mole m s and the solubility does not exceed 10" mole l Besides, both their dissolution rate and solubility depend on pH values. These minerals are most common in the Earth crust and often play a leading role in the formation of imderground water composition. It is convenient to subdivide minerals with kinetic dissolution regime into three groups 1- silica, 2 - oxides, hydroxides and sulphides of metals, 3-aluminum silicates. 

There are various concepts about the aluminum silicates dissolution mechanism. Relatively recently a low rate of their dissolution was explained by inner diffuse regime. Currently more substantiated appears hydrolysis with the formation of activated complexes. According to this theory, the dissolution begins with the exchange of alkaline, alkaline-earth and other metals on the mineral surface of H+ ions from the solution (see Figure 2.26). At that, metals in any conditions are removed in certain sequence. In case of the presence of iron and other metals with variable oxidation degree the process may be accompanied with redox reaction. Hydrolysis is a critical reaction in the dissolution of aluminum silicates. It results in the formation on the surface of a very thin layer of activated complexes in Na, K, Ca, Mg, Al and enriched with H+, H O or H O. The composition and thickness of this weakened layer depend on the solution pH. These activated complexes at disruption of weakened bonds with mineral are torn away and pass into solution. For some minerals (quartz, olivine, etc.) the disruption of one inner bond is sufficient, for some others, two and more. The very formation of activated complexes is reversible but their destruction and removal from the mineral are irreversible. 

In contrast, the stoichiometries and concentrations of different reactive complexes at the mineral surface are rarely known. The rate laws for dissolution are therefore usually expressed in terms of total adsorbate concentrations, and we know that these expressions are approximate. If hydration or hydrolysis by a water molecule of a detaching surface complex at steady state controls the rate of reaction, then rate laws such as those proposed by Furrer and Stumm (7) result. These rate laws are characterized by rates that are proportional to single adsorbate concentrations (see 8). Implicit in these rate laws is the idea that water is present in large and constant concentration and that only a single complex stoichiometry affects the reaction at the surface. 

The fate of organic contaminants in soils and sediments is of primary concern in environmental science. The capacity to which soil constituents can potentially react with organic contaminants may profoundly impact assessments of risks associated with specific contaminants and their degradation products. In particular, clay mineral surfaces are known to facilitate oxidation/reduction, acid/base, polymerization, and hydrolysis reactions at the mineral-aqueous interface (1, 2). Since these reactions are occurring on or at a hydrated mineral surface, non-invasive spectroscopic analytical methods are the preferred choice to accurately ascertain the reactant products and to monitor reactions in real time, in order to determine the role of the mineral surface in the reaction. Additionally, the in situ methods employed allow us to monitor the ultimate changes in the physico-chemical properties of the minerals. 

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