Fe(III) hydroxide nanoparticles are an essential carrier for aqueous heavy metals. Particularly, iron hydroxide precipitation on mineral surfaces can immobilize aqueous heavy metals. Here, we used grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) to quantify nucleation and growth of iron hydroxide on quartz in 0.1 mM Fe(NO3)(3) solution in the presence of Na+, Cu2+, Pb2+, or Cr3+ at pH = 3.7 +/- 0.1. In 30 min, the average radii of gyration (Rg) of particles on quartz grew from around 2 to 6 nm in the presence of Na+ and Cu2+. Interestingly, the particle sizes remained 3.3 +/- 0.3 nm in the presence of Pb2+, and few particles formed in the presence of Cr3+. Quartz crystal microbalance dissipation (QCM-D) measurements showed that only Cr3+ adsorbed onto quartz, while Cu2+ and Pb2+ did not. Cr3+ adsorption changed the surface charge of quartz from negative to positive, thus inhibiting the precipitation of positively charged iron hydroxide on quartz. Masses and compositions of the precipitates were also quantified. This study provided new insights on interactions among quartz, iron hydroxide, and metal ions. Such information is helpful not only for environmental remediation but also for the doping design of iron oxide catalysts.
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