Home Accurate μRaman characterization of reaction products at the surface of (bio)oxidized pyrite
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Accurate μRaman characterization of reaction products at the surface of (bio)oxidized pyrite

  • Céline Pisapia EMAIL logo , Bernard Humbert , Marc Chaussidon , Frédéric Demoisson and Christian Mustin
Published/Copyright: April 2, 2015
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

Biotic and abiotic oxidation experiments were performed on ground pyrite grains. MicroRaman (μRaman) spectroscopy was used to characterize and statistically analyze the reaction products formed at the pyrite surface. Reaction compounds consist of iron and sulfur-oxy species for all experiments including various amounts of sulfates, iron oxi-hydroxides, polysulfides, and elemental sulfur as well as scarce amounts of thiosulfate. These compounds are distributed as micrometric to submicrometric bumps. μRaman spectroscopy allowed for clear recognition of four phases of iron oxi-hydroxides and, without any correlation, four molecular structures of sulfate groups. Peaks associated with the oxidation products were assigned and are discussed according to hydration and to most probable chemical bonds with pyrite surfaces. Sulfates formed in solution (Td local symmetry) are distinguished from anhydrous sulfates (C3v to 0 local symmetries) formed directly at the surface of pyrite grains. Proposed structures are related to the surrounding chemical properties (e.g., local acidity) and to the heterogeneous electronic properties of pyrite grains. The distribution and combination of oxidation compounds at the surface of pyrite grains provide clues that distinguish bio-oxidized from chemically oxidized pyrite surfaces. Bio-oxidized surfaces are characterized by the exclusive presence of C3v sulfates that reflect active electronic circulations within the pyrite lattice. In contrast, air-oxidized pyrite surfaces exhibit a high proportion of 0 symmetry sulfates adsorbed on hematite bumps indicating a strong passivation of the mineral surface.

Received: 2010-2-25
Accepted: 2010-7-2
Published Online: 2015-4-2
Published in Print: 2010-11-1

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Characterization of cation environments in polycrystalline forsterite by 25Mg MAS, MQMAS, and QCPMG NMR
  2. Structure of nanocrystalline phyllomanganates produced by freshwater fungi
  3. First-principles study on variation of lattice parameters of mullite Al4+2xSi2–2xO10–x (x = 0.125, 0.250, 0.375)
  4. Natrolite may not be a “soda-stone” anymore: Structural study of fully K-, Rb-, and Cs-exchanged natrolite
  5. Metal retention, mineralogy, and design considerations of a mature permeable reactive barrier (PRB) for acidic mine water drainage in Northumberland, U.K.
  6. A relationship between d104 value and composition in the calcite-disordered dolomite solid-solution series
  7. XRD, micro-XANES, EMPA, and SIMS investigation on phlogopite single crystals from Mt. Vulture (Italy)
  8. Volume behavior of the 10 Å phase at high pressures and temperatures, with implications for H2O content
  9. Interfacial tension between immiscible liquids in the system K2O-FeO-Fe2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 and implications for the kinetics of silicate melt unmixing
  10. H2O and the dehydroxylation of phyllosilicates: An infrared spectroscopic study
  11. Effects of intermediate range structure on the 29Si NMR chemical shifts of framework silicates: Results for analcime
  12. High-temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy: A probe for the relaxation time of Fe species in silicate melts and glasses
  13. The thermal equation of state of FeTiO3 ilmenite based on in situ X-ray diffraction at high pressures and temperatures
  14. OH species, U ions, and CO/CO2 in thermally annealed metamict zircon (ZrSiO4)
  15. Crystallographic and chemical constraints on the nature of the proustite–pyrargyrite solid-solution series
  16. Accurate μRaman characterization of reaction products at the surface of (bio)oxidized pyrite
  17. Determination of manganese valence states in (Mn3+, Mn4+) minerals by electron energy-loss spectroscopy
  18. AFM study of the epitaxial growth of brushite (CaHPO4·2H2O) on gypsum cleavage surfaces
  19. Compressibility of protoamphibole: A high-pressure single-crystal diffraction study of protomangano-ferro-anthophyllite
  20. Crystal structure of hydrous wadsleyite with 2.8% H2O and compressibility to 60 GPa
  21. Dehydration and rehydration processes in gmelinite: An in situ X-ray single-crystal study
  22. Characteristics of emission centers in alkali feldspar: A new approach by using cathodoluminescence spectral deconvolution
  23. Mechanism of metamorphic zircon growth in a granulite-facies quartzite, Adirondack Highlands, Grenville Province, New York
  24. Speciation and mixing behavior of silica-saturated aqueous fluid at high temperature and pressure
  25. A critical comment on Thy et al. (2009b): Liquidus temperatures of the Skaergaard magma
Downloaded on 22.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.2138/am.2010.3538/html
Scroll to top button