title: Direct observation of tetrahedrally coordinated Fe(III) in ferrihydrite.
abstract: Ferrihydrite is a common iron hydroxide nanomineral commonly found in soils, sediments, and surface waters. Reactivity with this important environmental surface often controls the fate and mobility of both essential nutrients and inorganic contaminants. Despite the critical role of ferrihydrite in environmental geochemistry, its structure is still debated. In this work, we apply bulk sensitive Fe L edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the crystal field environment of the Fe in ferrihydrite and other Fe oxides of known structure. This direct probe of the local electronic structure provides verification of the presence of tetrahedrally coordinated Fe(III) in the structure of ferrihydrite and puts to rest the controversy on this issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5A8. derek.peak@usask.ca
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peak
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Regier
mesh_terms: D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D058085:Iron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D056928:X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D058085:Iron Compounds; D007501:Iron