Effect of the adsorption of lithium and borate species on the zeta potential of particles of cobalt ferrite, nickel ferrite, and magnetite

Zetametric measurements on suspensions of oxide particles (cobalt ferrite, nickel ferrite, and magnetite) representative of corrosion products from primary circuits of pressurized water reactors were performed at 25 and 70 °C in the presence of lithium and borate species. No effect of lithium ions was observed. Borate species cause a decrease of the isoelectric point (IEP), attributed to the sorption of borate as a negative complex MOB(OH)3−. A predictive model based on thermodynamic calculations (2-pK2-pK and diffuse layer models) of the surface acidity constants from the data of acid–base titrations combined with an empirical relationship between the surface potential Ψ0Ψ0 and the ζ potential determined by zetametry was developed. A whole set of parameters valid at 25 °C, in a range of ionic strength between 10−4 and 10−2 molL−1 and in a range of pH between 4 and 8, was determined for this model. Increase of temperature to 70 °C in the presence of borate results in a decrease of IEP for cobalt ferrite and an increase of the IEP for nickel ferrite.

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