Ionic potential is the

ratio In mathematics, a ratio () shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...

of the

electrical charge Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

(''z'') to the

radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

(''r'') of an

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

\text = \frac = \frac

As such, this ratio is a measure of the

charge density In electromagnetism, charge density is the amount of electric charge per unit length, surface area, or volume. Volume charge density (symbolized by the Greek letter ρ) is the quantity of charge per unit volume, measured in the SI system in co ...

at the surface of the ion; usually the denser the charge, the stronger the bond formed by the ion with ions of opposite charge. The ionic potential gives an indication of how strongly, or weakly, the ion will be electrostatically attracted by ions of opposite charge; and to what extent the ion will be repelled by ions of the same charge. Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, the father of modern

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

found that the behavior of an element in its environment could be predicted from its ionic potential and illustrated this with a diagram (plot of the bare

ionic radius Ionic radius, ''r''ion, is the radius of a monatomic ion in an ionic crystal structure. Although neither atoms nor ions have sharp boundaries, they are treated as if they were hard spheres with radii such that the sum of ionic radii of the cati ...

as a function of the ionic charge). For instance, the

solubility In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a chemical substance, substance, the solute, to form a solution (chemistry), solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form su ...

of dissolved iron is highly dependent on its redox state. with a lower ionic potential than is much more soluble because it exerts a weaker interaction force with ion present in water and exhibits a less pronounced trend to

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

and

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. Under reducing conditions Fe(II) can be present at relatively high concentration in anoxic water, similar to these encountered for other divalent species such as and . However, once anoxic ground water is pumped from a deep well and is discharged to the surface, it enters in contact with atmospheric oxygen. Then is easily oxidized to and this latter rapidly hydrolyzes and precipitates because of its lower solubility due to a higher z/r ratio. Millot (1970) also illustrated the importance of the ionic potential of cations to explain the high, or the low,

of minerals and the expansive behaviour (swelling/shrinking) of clay materials. The ionic potential of the different cations (, , and ) present in the interlayer of clay minerals also contribute to explain their swelling/shrinking properties. The more hydrated cations such as and are responsible for the swelling of

smectite A smectite (; ; ) is a mineral mixture of various swelling sheet silicates (phyllosilicates), which have a three-layer 2:1 (TOT) structure and belong to the clay minerals. Smectites mainly consist of montmorillonite, but can often contain secon ...

while the less hydrated and cause the collapse of the interlayer. In

illite Illite, also called hydromica or hydromuscovite, is a group of closely related non-expanding clay minerals. Illite is a secondary mineral precipitate, and an example of a phyllosilicate, or layered alumino-silicate. Its structure is a 2:1 sandw ...

, the interlayer is totally collapsed because of the presence of the poorly hydrated . Ionic potential is also a measure of the polarising power of a

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

. Ionic potential could be used as a general criterion for the selection of efficient adsorbents for toxic elements.

References

Binding energy Chemical properties Ions Physical chemistry Electrochemical potentials Atomic radius {{Electrochem-stub

See also

References