The Oxidation of Sulfur(IV) by Reaction with Iron(III): a Critical Review and Data Analysis Cite This: Phys
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PCCP View Article Online PAPER View Journal | View Issue The oxidation of sulfur(IV) by reaction with iron(III): a critical review and data analysis Cite this: Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20,4020 Peter Warneck The dependences on ionic strength of the hydrolysis constants of Fe3+ and of the first dissociation constant of sulfurous acid are briefly reviewed. The data are needed to derive from apparent stability constants reported in the literature the stability constants for the three iron–sulfito complexes defined 2+ À + + À À + by the equilibria (c1) FeOH + HSO3 = FeSO3 +H2O, (c2) FeSO3 + HSO3 = Fe(SO3)2 +H , (c3a) À À 2À 3 À1 Fe(SO3)2 + HSO3 = Fe(SO3)3H , where Kc1 = 1982 Æ 518 dm mol , Kc2 = 0.72 Æ 0.08, Kc3a = 189 Æ 9dm3 molÀ1 (ionic strength m = 0.1 mol dmÀ3). The rapid formation of these complexes is followed by À a slower decomposition leading to the formation of SO3 radicals; the associated rate coefficients are À1 À1 À1 k1 =0.19s , k1a E 0.04 s ,andk1b E 0.08 s , respectively. The subsequent reaction leads to dithionate and sulfate as products. Overall rates and product yields from a variety of studies of the slow reaction Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. are found to be consistent with a mechanism, in which the production of dithionate occurs mainly by the À + À 2+ 3+ reaction of SO3 with FeSO3 and that of sulfate by the reaction of SO3 with FeOH and/or Fe .Therole Received 9th November 2017, of copper as a catalyst is also analyzed. Rate coefficients for individual reactions are estimated from the data Accepted 9th January 2018 at low pH (m =1.0moldmÀ3) under conditions where the 1 : 1-complex is prevalent. They are extrapolated to DOI: 10.1039/c7cp07584g lower ionic strengths for an analysis of the data obtained at higher pH to explore conditions when reactions of the higher complexes become important. The overall rate and the product yields of the reaction depend rsc.li/pccp critically on the pH, the initial ratio of S(IV)toFe(III)andtheionicstrength of the solution. This article is licensed under a Introduction S(IV). Stopped flow spectrophotometry has been used to follow the formation and decay of the complexes.14–17 Measurements Iron belongs to a group of transition metals that are known to at short reaction times suggest the existence of three complexes 1 catalyze the oxidation of S(IV) in aqueous solution. Such resulting from the successive addition to Fe(III)ofS(IV)as Open Access Article. Published on 15 January 2018. Downloaded 9/29/2021 12:32:44 PM. 17,19,20 reactions are of interest especially in the atmospheric sciences ligand. Absorbance changes due to the variation of S(IV) because they are predicted to occur in the aqueous phase of concentrations have been exploited to derive apparent stability clouds and fogs, where they would contribute to the removal of constants for the complexes under various experimental 1–3 14,17–19 SO2 from the atmosphere. Thus, it is not surprising that the conditions. Unfortunately, the results have never been Fe(III)-catalyzed oxidation of S(IV) in aerated aqueous solutions has subjected to a detailed analysis, so that the true stability been studied in much detail.1 A consistent chemical mechanism constants are still not available. The slower subsequent reaction, 4,5 was developed, which incorporates a chain reaction carried by which leads to Fe(II), S(V)andS(VI) as products, has been studied sulfuroxy radicals, and rate coefficients are available for most of the by product analysis under conditions when the reaction is 6–8 9–14 individual reactions involved. But Fe(III) is known to oxidize S(IV) sufficiently slow. In reviewing these publications I have found also in the absence of oxygen. Far fewer studies have dealt with that the modification of a simple reaction mechanism first this process,9–16 and no consensus has been reached regarding proposed by Higginson and Marshall9 can explain most if not the relevant mechanism. This reaction in de-aerated solutions is all of the experimental results. the subject of the present critical analysis. Fundamental to an analysis of all experimental data is a There is agreement that the reaction is initiated by the knowledge of the speciation of Fe(III) and S(IV) resulting from 3+ formation of one or more iron–sulfito complexes. The presence the hydrolysis of Fe and SO2aq, respectively, and their depen- of such complexes is indicated by the appearance, and the dence on pH and ionic strength. This makes it necessary to subsequent fading, of a reddish brown color when a solution review briefly the hydrolysis constants of iron, and the first containing Fe(III) is mixed with another solution containing dissociation constant of sulfurous acid. Whereas the ionic strength dependences of the iron hydrolysis constants are quite Max-Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, Germany. well known, that of the dissociation constant of sulfurous acid E-mail: [email protected] appears to have not been well defined in the literature so that it 4020 | Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 4020--4037 This journal is © the Owner Societies 2018 View Article Online Paper PCCP needs to be re-examined. Following these preliminaries spectrophotometric measurements – conducted mainly at 340 nm the data available for the apparent stability constants of the wavelength – and the solid line represents the best fit to the Fe(III)–S(IV) complexes are reviewed, the true stability constants extended Debye–Hu¨ckel equation are derived, and rate coefficients of their formation are discussed. 0 1 1 log K = log K À 2.04m2/(1 + 2.4m2) À 0.01m, (1) The results are then used in the subsequent analysis of the h1 h1 0 experimental data reported for the slower reaction, which where log Kh1 = À2.174 is obtained by extrapolation. The follows the decomposition of the complexes. In addition to numerical parameters in this equation were originally suggested making use of functional relationships in evaluating the experi- by Milburn and Vosburgh,21 whose measurements covered ionic mental data, computer simulations were carried out aiming to strengths up to m = 3.0. While spectrophotometry has been the reproduce the experimental data. favored measurement technique, potentiometric titration has also been applied, based on measuring simultaneously the hydrogen ion concentration and the Fe3+/Fe2+ redoxpotential.Bymeansof Iron(III) in aqueous solution computer-assisted analyses of the titration curves, Byrne et al.30 28 Trivalent iron, Fe3+, undergoes hydrolysis in aqueous solution and Stefanson have obtained results in perfect agreement with 2+ + 4+ 21 whereby FeOH , Fe(OH)2 , and Fe2(OH)2 are formed as those of Milburn and Vosburgh. products. The sum of all species and the total concentration Whereas the dependence on ionic strength of the first will be designated Fe(III) and [FeIII]tot, respectively. The relative hydrolysis constant is well documented, measurements of the concentrations of the different species are determined second hydrolysis constant are still sparse. The equilibrium by equilibria that depend on the pH, the ionic strength and may be written in two ways: the total concentration. In acidic solutions the solubility of 3+ + + Fe +2H2O = Fe(OH)2 +2H (h2) Fe(III) decreases with increasing pH; the final hydrolysis 2+ + + product Fe(OH)3 is the least soluble. Precipitation sets in at FeOH +H2O = Fe(OH)2 +H (h2a) Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. pH 4 4, even at low concentrations, so that experimental + + 2 3+ studies of Fe(III) are restricted to the more acidic pH regime. Kh2 = [Fe(OH)2 ][H ] /[Fe ] At pH 2–3 the major species are Fe3+ and FeOH2+. The extent + + 2+ of dimer formation can be minimized by keeping [FeIII]tot Kh2a = [Fe(OH)2 ][H ]/[FeOH ] below 1 mmol dmÀ3. Under such conditions the dominant equilibrium is Both equilibrium constants are related in that Kh2a = K /K . The first expression is prevalent in the literature, 3+ 2+ + h2 h1 Fe +H2O = FeOH +H (h1) however. Early attempts to determine the equilibrium constant by means of potentiometric titration25,31,32 gave results that This article is licensed under a 2+ + 3+ 30 Kh1 = [FeOH ][H ]/[Fe ] scattered over a wide range. Then Byrne et al. critically reviewed the data and concluded that potentiometric titration The H2O molecule causing the hydrolysis is taken from the is not sufficiently sensitive and unsuitable for the determina- 3+ tion of K . On the other hand, more recent optical absorption Open Access Article. Published on 15 January 2018. Downloaded 9/29/2021 12:32:44 PM. hydration sphere of Fe . In the following, the hydration sphere h2 will be neglected, however. Fig. 1 shows Kh1 as a function studies over an extended range of pH have revealed a spectrum 28,33,34 + of ionic strength at 25 1C. Points are values obtained from that was assigned, to Fe(OH)2 . This made the determi- nation of Kh2 by means of spectrophotometry possible. Stefansson28 has summarized the available data and suggested an ionic strength dependence 0 1 1 log Kh2 = log Kh2 À 3.06m2/(1 + 1.58m2) (2) 0 where log Kh2 = À5.76 Æ 0.06 was again obtained by extrapola- tion. This value, as well as that in the denominator of the second term, is still uncertain because of an insufficient number of data available at low ionic strengths. 4+ The equilibrium constant of the Fe2(OH)2 complex may also be defined in two ways: 3+ 4+ + Fe +2H2O=Fe2(OH)2 +2H (h3) 2+ 2+ 4+ Fig.