Understanding Competitive Phosphate and Silicate Adsorption on Goethite by Connecting Batch Experiments with Density Functional Theory Calculations

Despite the biogeochemical importance of phosphate fate and transport in aquatic environments, little is known about how competition with other common aqueous oxyanions affects its retention by mineral surfaces. Here, we examined the competitive uptake of phosphate and silicate on goethite over a wide pH range, using batch measurements supported by DFT calculations. The results show selective adsorption of phosphate at pH < 4 and silicate at pH > 10 with little to no competitive effect. However, between 4 < pH < 10, the total phosphate and silicate loading was found to be almost equal to that of silicate loading from single-component solution, revealing a proportionate competition for surface site types and a competitive effect controlling their mutual retention. DFT-calculated adsorption energies and charge density redistributions for various surface complexes on different charged (101) and (210) facets are consistent with the trends observed in batch measurements, suggesting that the observed behavior reflects the primary controlling influence of goethite surface chemistry at the molecular scale. An important implication is that at the circumneutral pH in most environmental systems, where iron oxyhydroxides comprise much of the reactive interfacial area, unbound phosphate concentrations may be strongly controlled by dissolved silicate concentration, and vice versa.