Abstract
The characterization of birnessite structures is particularly challenging for poorly crystalline materials of biogenic origin, and a determination of the relative concentrations of triclinic and hexagonal birnessite in a mixed assemblage has typically required synchrotron-based spectroscopy and diffraction approaches. In this study, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is demonstrated to be capable of differentiating synthetic triclinic Na-birnessite and synthetic hexagonal H-birnessite. Furthermore, IR spectral deconvolution of peaks resulting from Mn[sbnd]O lattice vibrations between 400 and 750 cm− 1 yield results comparable to those obtained by linear combination fitting of synchrotron X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data when applied to known mixtures of triclinic and hexagonal birnessites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that an infrared absorbance peak at ~ 1628 cm− 1 may be related to OH vibrations near vacancy sites. The integrated intensity of this peak may show sensitivity to vacancy concentrations in the Mn octahedral sheet for different birnessites.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 32-46 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Spectrochimica Acta - Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy |
Volume | 178 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 5 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
- Birnessite
- Density functional theory
- EXAFS
- FTIR
- Manganese oxide