Surface complexation and oxidation of SnII by nano-magnetite

The long-lived fission product 126Sn is of substantial interest in the context of nuclear waste disposal in deep underground repositories. However, the prevalent redox state (di- or tetravalent), the aqueous speciation as well as the reactions at the mineral-water interface under the expected anoxic conditions are still a matter of debate. We therefore investigated the reaction of SnII with a relevant redox-reactive mineral, magnetite (FeIIFeIII2O4) at < 2 ppmv O2, and monitored Sn uptake as a function of pH and time. Tin redox state and local structure was monitored by Sn-K X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). We observed a rapid (< 30 min) uptake and oxidation of SnII to SnIV in the presence of magnetite. The local structure determined by XAS showed two Sn-Fe distances of about 3.15 and 3.60 Å in line with edge and corner sharing arrangements between octahedrally coordinated SnIV and the magnetite surface, indicative of formation of tetradentate inner-sphere complexes between pH 3 and 9, in line with the strong sorption (logRd >5 from pH 3 to 9). Based on the EXAFS-derived surface structure, we could successfully model the sorption data with two different complexes, (Magn_sO)4Sn(OH)2-2 ( -14.97±0.35) prevailing from pH 2 to 9, and (Magn_sO)4Sn(OH)2Fe ( -17.72±0.50), which forms at pH > 9 by co-adsorption of FeII, thereby increasing sorption at this high pH.