X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies for the determination of adsorption binding modes of selenium oxoanions onto iron and manganese based nanomaterials

ABSTRACTIncreasing concentrations of selenium oxoanions in the environment are placing many animals at risk for reproduction failure and deformities. The understanding of binding mechanisms of selenium oxoanions to iron and manganese based oxide minerals could lead to enhanced understanding of selenium mobility in the environment. In this study, the binding mechanisms of selenium oxoanions, selenite and selenate, to non microwave-assisted and microwave-assisted synthetic Fe3O4, Mn3O4, and MnFe2O4 nanomaterials were investigated through the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy studies revealed the oxidation state of selenite and selenate remains the same after binding occurs to all nanomaterials in pH 2, 4, or 6 environments. The binding modes of selenite and selenate were determined to be bidentate binuclear through use of Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and were independent of nanomaterials, synthetic technique, and pH.