Estimation of the specific content and nature of sorption sites of iron(III) and zirconium(IV) oxyhydroxides

The sorption of anions H2PO4−, HPO42−, PO43−, [Fe(CN)6]3−, and [Fe(CN)6]4− from aqueous solutions on the surface of FeIII and ZrIV oxyhydroxide hydrogels freshly precipitated at pH 4–13 was studied. The region of sorbate concentrations was from 0.00025 to 0.06 mol L−1. The plots of the anion uptakes vs. their equilibrium concentrations are represented by isotherms of the first type, which are well described by the Langmuir equation if the quantity of the amount adsorbed is expressed as mol-site g−1. The maximum uptakes and constants of the Langmuir equation were calculated. The phosphate anions occupy the same number of sorption sites on the sorbents precipitated at different pH. The average specific content of sorption sites for the ferro- and zirconogels in the metastability period is independent of the pH of their precipitation, being 3.1·10−3 and 3.2·10−3 mol-site g−1, respectively. The [Fe(CN)6]3− and [Fe(CN)6]4− anions are sorbed only on the positively charged sites of the hydrogels and occupy not more than 2·10 mol-site g−1 in the studied interval of pH of precipitation.