- Mechanisms for the adsorption of substituted nitrobenzenes by smectite clays.
Mechanisms for the adsorption of substituted nitrobenzenes by smectite clays.
To more fully understand the potential for transport of nitroaromatic compounds in soils and subsoils,the adsorption of a series of para- and meta-substituted nitrobenzenes (SNBs) by K-smectite clay was measured. Adsorption isotherms were fit to the Freundlich equation, and the resultant Freundlich adsorption coefficients (log(Kf) were positively correlated with the Hammett substituent constant (r2 = 0.80). This relationship and a positive reaction constant (p = 1.15) indicate that the adsorption reaction is favored by electron-withdrawing substituents. These results are consistent with an electron donor (smectite)-acceptor (substituted nitrobenzene) mechanism offered previously. However, quantum calculations did not reveal any systematic relationship between the Hammett constant and the electron density on the aromatic ring, which would explain a donor-acceptor relationship. Rather, electron density donated by a second substituent on nitrobenzene appears to be appropriated by the nitro group leaving ring electron density unchanged. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed shifts in the -NO2 vibrational modes of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) upon adsorption to K+-smectite that were consistent with the complexation of K+ by -NO2 groups. Such TNB vibrational shifts were not observed for SWy-1 saturated with more strongly hydrated cations (i.e., Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Ba2+). The simultaneous interaction of multiple -NO2 groups with exchangeable K+ was indicated by molecular dynamic simulations. Adsorption of SNBs by smectite clays appears to result from the additive interactions of -NO2 groups and secondary substituents with interlayer K+ ions. Adsorption occurs to a greater or lesser extent depending on the abilities of substituents to complex additional interlayer cations and the water solubilities of SNBs. We conclude that the adsorption trends of SNBs on K-SAz-1 can be explained without recourse to hypothetical electron donor-acceptor complexes.