Bimodal normal distribution model for binding of trivalent europium by soil fulvic acid

Bi-exponential decay of Eu(III) complexed by Suwannee River humic substances: spectroscopic evidence of two different excited species

The bi-exponential luminescence decay of europium (III) complexed by Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) and humic acid (SRHA), is studied in time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy using two different gratings at varying delay after the laser pulse, increasing accumulation time in order to obtain comparable signals. The two hypotheses found in the literature to interpret this bi-exponential decay are (i) a back transfer from the metal to the triplet state of the organic ligand and (ii) the radiative decay of two different excited species. It is shown that evolutions of the (5)D(0)-->(7)F(0) and (5)D(0)-->(7)F(2) luminescent transitions are occurring between 10 and 300 micros delay. First, the (5)D(0)-->(7)F(0) transition is decreasing relative to the (5)D(0)-->(7)F(1) showing a slightly greater symmetry of the 'slow' component, and is also slightly red shifted. Second, a slight modification of the (5)D(0)-->(7)F(2) transition is also evidencing a slightly different ligand field splitting. No significant modification of the (5)D(0)-->(7)F(1) magnetic dipole, which is less susceptible to symmetry changes, is noted in line with expectations. The (5)D(0)-->(7)F(0) transitions are adjusted with either one or two components. The use of a simple component fit seems to be well adapted for representing an average comportment of these heterogeneous compounds, and a two-component fit constrained by the bi-exponential decay parameters and accumulation times yields in the proposition of the spectra for the fast and slow components.

Generic NICA-Donnan model parameters for metal-ion binding by humic substances

A total of 171 datasets of literature and experimental data for metal-ion binding by fulvic and humic acids have been digitized and re-analyzed using the NICA-Donnan model. Generic parameter values have been derived that can be used for modeling in the absence of specific metalion binding measurements. These values complement the previously derived generic descriptions of proton binding. For ions where the ranges of pH, concentration, and ionic strength conditions are well covered by the available data,the generic parameters successfully describe the metalion binding behavior across a very wide range of conditions and for different humic and fulvic acids. Where published data for other metal ions are too sparse to constrain the model well, generic parameters have been estimated by interpolating trends observable in the parameter values of the well-defined data. Recommended generic NICA-Donnan model parameters are provided for 23 metal ions (Al, Am, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cm, Co, CrIII, Cu, Dy, Eu, FeII, FeIII, Hg, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Thv, UVIO2, VIIIO, and Zn) for both fulvic and humic acids. These parameters probably represent the best NICA-Donnan description of metal-ion binding that can be achieved using existing data.