Multi-isotope (Pb, Sb) approach to trace metallic contaminant sources at a historical mining and metallurgical site
Highlights Soils are locally affected by extreme Pb and moderate Sb contamination. Anthropogenic soil contamination is restricted to the surface horizons. Antimony isotopes allowed to discriminate Sb from mining vs metallurgical sources. Pb-Sb isotope coupling is a powerful tool to identify the anthropogenic sources. Abstract In mining and smelting sites, where diverse potentially toxic element-rich […]
Antimony isotope fractionation during Sb(V) and Sb(III) adsorption on secondary Fe-minerals (schwertmannite, ferrihydrite) typical of mine waters
Highlights Experimental study of Sb isotope fractionation during its sorption on iron minerals. Light isotope of Sb was preferentially adsorbed on schwertmannite and ferrihydrite. Equilibrium fractionation factor (Δ123Sbsolid-solution) between −0.36 ‰ and −0.25 ‰. Abstract The application of antimony (Sb) isotopes as tracers for Sb environmental cycling is currently limited. Indeed, there is a lack […]
Antimony isotopic fractionation during Sb(III) oxidation to Sb(V): Biotic and abiotic processes
Highlights Antimony isotope fractionation during oxidation documented for the first time. Biotic and chemical oxidation fractionated Sb isotopes in opposite direction. Multi-step reactions underlie the fractionation process. Abstract Oxidation of antimonite (Sb(III)) to antimonate (Sb(V)) plays an important role in the control of Sb mobility in aquatic systems. Fractionation of Sb isotopes (123Sb/121Sb) during Sb(III) […]
Equilibrium mass-dependent isotope fractionation of antimony between stibnite and Sb secondary minerals: A first-principles study
Highlights First estimation of equilibrium Sb isotope fractionation factors among Sb minerals. PBEsol pseudopotential best reproduces Sb mineral lattices and Raman frequencies. Factors affecting Sb isotope fractionation: Sb oxidation > change in Sb first-neighbour > polyhedral SbO distortion. Theoretical Sb isotope fractionation extends over 2.3 ‰ at 22°C, similar to the observed range of natural […]
A single-step purification method for the precise determination of antimony isotopic composition
Abstract Antimony isotopes have been recently used as geochemical tracers for archeological or environmental purposes. The purification of antimony in samples with a low Sb concentration and a complex matrix is a critical step to measure the 123Sb/121Sb ratio by hydride generation coupled to a multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HG-MC-ICP-MS). A single-step purification […]