Biogenic nanoparticulate UO2: Synthesis, characterization, and factors affecting surface reactivity

The surface reactivity of biogenic, nanoparticulate UO2 with respect to sorption of aqueous Zn(II) and particle annealing is different from that of bulk uraninite because of the presence of surface-associated organic matter on the biogenic UO2. Synthesis of biogenic UO2 was accomplished by reduction of aqueous uranyl ions, UO22+ by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32, and the resulting nanoparticles were washed using one of two protocols: (1) to remove surface-associated organic matter and soluble uranyl species (NAUO2), or (2) to remove only soluble uranyl species (BIUO2). A suite of bulk and surface characterization techniques was used to examine bulk and biogenic, nanoparticulate UO2 as a function of particle size and surface-associated organic matter. The N-2-BET surface areas of the two biogenic UO2 samples following the washing procedures are 128.63 m(2) g(-1) (NAUO2) and 92.56 m(2) g(-1) (BIUO2), and the average particle sizes range from 5-10 nm based on TEM imaging. Electrophoretic mobility measurements indicate that the surface charge behavior of biogenic, nanoparticulate UO2 (both NAUO(2) and BIUO2) over the pH range 3-9 is the same as that of bulk. The U L-m-edge EXAFS spectra for biogenic UO2 (both NAUO(2) and BIUO2) were best fit with half the number of second-shell uranium neighbors compared to bulk uraninite, and no oxygen neighbors were detected beyond the first shell around U(IV) in the biogenic UO2. At pH 7, sorption of Zn(II) onto both bulk uraninite and biogenic, nanoparticulate UO2 is independent of electrolyte concentration, suggesting that Zn(II) sorption complexes are dominantly inner-sphere. The maximum surface area-normalized Zn(II) sorption loadings for the three substrates were 3.00 +/- 0.20 mu mol m(-2) UO2 (bulk uraninite), 2.34 +/- 0.12 mu mol m(-2) UO2 (NAUO2), and 2.57 +/- 0.10 mu mol m(-2) UO2 (BIUO2). Fits of Zn K-edge EXAFS spectra for biogenic, nanoparticulate UO2 indicate that Zn(II) sorption is dependent on the washing protocol. Zn-U pair correlations were observed at 2.8 +/- 0.1 angstrom for NAUO2 and bulk uraninite; however, they were not observed for sample BIUO2. The derived Zn-U distance, coupled with an average Zn-O distance of 2.09 +/- 0.02 angstrom, indicates that Zn(O,OH)(6) sorbs as bidentate, edge-sharing complexes to UO8 polyhedra at the surface of NAUO2 nanoparticles and bulk uraninite, which is consistent with a Pauling bond-valence analysis. The absence of Zn-U pair correlations in sample BIUO2 suggests that Zn(II) binds preferentially to the organic matter coating rather than the UO2 surface. Surface-associated organic matter on the biogenic UO2 particles also inhibited particle annealing at 90 degrees C under anaerobic conditions. These results suggest that surface-associated organic matter decreases the reactivity of biogenic, nanoparticulate UO2 surfaces relative to aqueous Zn(II) and possibly other environmental contaminants. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.