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Effects of water chemistry and concentrations of dissolved organic matter on its fluorescence characteristics and molecular conformation

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Abstract

Previous studies showed that water chemistry and concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) could affect its molecular conformation and binding characteristics with hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). However, the conformational change of DOM resultant from water chemistry and concentrations of DOM was not extensively investigated; therefore, the contradictory reports regarding the binding property with HOCs were available in literature. In this study, the effects of ionic strength, pH and DOM concentrations on the fluorescence properties of two humic acids (HA), namely Fluka HA and Amherst HA, were investigated by three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3DEEM) and steady-state fluorescence polarization (FP) techniques. The results not only corroborated previous observations obtained by other investigators, but revealed some new information about the fluorescence properties and molecular conformation of the humic acids under different water chemistry and DOM concentration conditions, which could shed light on its binding mechanisms and binding properties with HOCs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Yi Mei

  2. The State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Liying Wang

  3. Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    Fengchang Wu

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  1. Yi Mei
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  2. Liying Wang
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  3. Fengchang Wu
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Correspondence to Fengchang Wu.

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Mei, Y., Wang, L. & Wu, F. Effects of water chemistry and concentrations of dissolved organic matter on its fluorescence characteristics and molecular conformation. Chin. J. Geochem. 28, 413–420 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-009-0413-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-009-0413-2

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