The coordination chemistry of weathering: IV. Inhibition of the dissolution of oxide minerals

Special attention is paid to the effects of changes in surface protonation brought on by the binding of cations and anions to the surface. Binuclear surface complexes, especially those formed by the adsorption of oxoanions such as phosphate, arsenate, borate, and sulfate, are particularly good at inhibiting both the reductive and nonreductive dissolutions of a reference system of iron (III) oxides. This phenomenon is due to (1) the large activation energy which must be overcome to simultaneously detach two surface metal centers and to (2) the lack of additional surface protonation when uncharged binuclear or multinuclear complexes are formed.