Understanding surface complexation of antimony on Mg(OH)2: Insights from first-principles molecular dynamics

Sorption processes at the mineral–water interface are of great importance in dominating the fate and availability of metalloid contaminants in natural environment. Aiming at a thorough understanding of the complexation of antimony (Sb) on metal hydroxide, we conducted first-principles molecular dynamic (FPMD) simulations and batch adsorption experiments to elucidate the quantitative mechanism of Sb complexation on Mg(OH)2. Batch experiments showed the sorption of Sb(III) is nearly pH-independent, while increasing pH markedly weakened Sb(V) sorption; the measured sorption isotherm curves were well fitted by Langmuir model. Subsequently, molecular-level mechanism of Sb(V)/Sb(III) on brucite basal and edge surfaces were revealed by FPMD, including microscopic surface reactive sites, local complexing structures and coordination geometries, and complexing free energies. Results showed that Sb(III)/Sb(V) can form outer-sphere complexation on basal surface by hydrogen bonding. On edge surface, Sb(III)/Sb(V) formed stable inner-sphere mononuclear monodentate and binuclear bidentate complexes. The calculated free energies indicated that the binuclear bidentate complexing was more favorable than monodentate structure, and the complexation of Sb(III) was more stable than Sb(V). Accordingly, reaction pathway of the ligand exchange and thermodynamic stability of the different inner-sphere complexes were clarified. This study provides theoretical basis for evaluating the environmental risk of Sb and improving the engineering efficiency of Sb-contaminated water management.