Solubility and Surface Complexation Studies of Apatites

Apatites are a diverse class of phosphate minerals that are important in a great variety of natural and industrial processes. They are, for example, used as raw material in fertiliser production and in the remediation of metal-contaminated soils. Hydroxyapatite Ca5(PO4)3OH, (HAP) and fluorapatite Ca5(PO4)3F, (FAP) are similar to the biological apatite that is the main constituent of mammalian bone and teeth, and they are therefore promising materials for artificial bone and tooth implants. This thesis is a summary of four papers with focus on dissolution and surface complexation reactions of HAP and FAP in the absence and presence of both organic ligands and the natural and commonly occurring iron oxide goethite (α-FeOOH). The dissolution and surface complexation of HAP and FAP was investigated with a combination of different techniques. Potentiometric acid/base titrations and batch experiments were combined with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy to generate dissolution and surface complexation models for both apatites. The results from these studies showed that both apatites form surface layers that are different from their bulk compositions when equilibrated in aqueous solutions. The modeling efforts predicted speciation of these surfaces as well as the concentration of the dissolution products in the solution. The interaction between organic ligands and the apatite surfaces was also investigated and the results from this study show that the organic ligands form outer-sphere complexes on the apatite surfaces over a large pH interval, and that this adsorption enhances the dissolution of apatites. The presence of goethite also enhances the dissolution of FAP as it acts as a sink for the phosphate released from FAP. Phase transformation in this system was detected using ATR-FTIR as the phosphate adsorbed to the goethite surface precipitates as FePO4 (s) after approximately 15 days of reaction time. This changes the speciation, and possibly also the bioavailability of phosphate in this two-mineral system.