XAFS study of Cu2+ in aqueous solution of CuBr2

Copper ion is the essential microelement to many organisms. In this paper, the local structure of Cu2+ in CuBr2 aqueous solutions with different concentrations are investigated by using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) technique. XANES (X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure) spectra indicate that charge transfer from Br- to Cu2+ decreases with the solution concentration, which lead to a shift of the absorption edge. The shoulder appearing at the rising edge proves to be characteristic of a tetragonal distortion. The Fourier transform magnitudes of EXAFS (Extended X-ray absorption fine structure) data of Cu species suggest that more Cu-Br bonds may exist in high concentrations. A fivefold coordination configuration like a pyramid is used as the fitting parameters. From the analysis of the coordination numbers, the proportion of Cu-O and Cu-Br is 4:1 in the saturated solution. The Br atom is on the equatorial plane of the model. The fitting results agree well with the experiment data.