Humic nanoparticles at the oxide-water interface: interactions with phosphate ion adsorption.

In this work, data for the interactions between humic acid (HA) or fulvic acid (FA) with phosphate ions at the surface of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) are presented. The results show very clear differences between HA and FA in their interactions with phosphate at goethite surface. HA is strongly bound to goethite but surprisingly does not strongly affect the phosphate binding, whereas FA is less strongly bound, but these molecules have a very large effect on the phosphate adsorption, and vice versa.