Structure of uranium sorption complexes at montmorillonite edge sites

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy at the uranium LIII-edge was used for determining the structural environment of aqueous uranyl sorbed onto montmorillonite. The study reveals that uranyl uptake at pH ~ 5- ~ 7 and at an initial uranyl concentration of 5×10-5 M takes place at amphoteric surface hydroxyl sites as inner-sphere complex. The measured bond distances between uranium and the equatorial oxygen atoms are in the range of 2.34 Å and 2.37 Å indicating an inner-sphere coordination. At ~ 3.4Å the presence of a U-Al backscattering pair was determined. This backscattering pair indicates that the binding of the uranyl unit to amphoteric surface hydroxyl sites occurs preferred as a bidentate inner-sphere complex on aluminol groups.