CHARACTERIZATION OF THE FE(III)-FULVIC ACID REACTION BY MOSSBAUER-SPECTROSCOPY

Fulvic acids have been isolated from a sandy loam (Countesswells series) and a clay soil (Tipperty series) and the products of their reaction with different amounts of iron over a range of pH from 0.5 to 11 analyzed by Mossbauer spectroscopy. Three distinct types of spectral component were detected at 77 K, a sextet from magnetically dilute Fe(III) and doublets from Fe(II) and Fe(III), the last arising from both organic complexes and poorly crystalline oxide species. In iron-fulvic acid mixtures the proportion of iron as Fe(II) increased as the pH was lowered from 5 to 1 by the addition of hydrochloric or nitric acid at all Fe to fulvic acid ratios (1:5 to 1:500). When the pH was lowered below 1 the amounts of Fe(II) decreased with the lower Fe to fulvic acid ratios, but increased with the higher ratios. The amounts of the Fe(III) component contributing to a doublet signal decreased with decreasing Fe:fulvic acid ratios. At low iron concentrations the iron appears to be strongly bound to the fulvic acid, but when the iron content is of the order of 1-2% uncomplexed Fe(III) species can be present. At pH > 2 these are hydrolysed ions which form poorly-crystalline oxides at higher pH. This was confirmed by analysis of spectra at 4.2 K. At pH < 2 free ions are present in solution. In solutions with high fulvic acid contents (greater than 100-fold excess) the reactions with iron are completely reversible, but in solutions with a lower proportion of fulvic acid to iron, where free ions are present, there is a lack of reversibility.