Investigation of the interaction between As and Sb species and dissolved organic matter in the Yangtze Estuary, China, using excitation–emission matrices with parallel factor analysis

Abstract

The interactions between trivalent or pentavalent As/Sb and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in four regions (the river channel, the adjacent coastal area, and the northern and southern nearshore areas) of the Yangtze Estuary, China, were studied using fluorescence quenching titration combined with excitation–emission matrix spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The As/Sb–DOM complexation characteristics were investigated using FTIR and UV absorbance spectroscopy and zeta potential analysis. Four protein-like components and one humic-like component were identified in the DOM from the Yangtze Estuary, China, by PARAFAC analysis. The tryptophan-like substance represented by component 2 was the dominant component and played an important role in the complexation between DOM and As/Sb. The results of complexation modeling demonstrated that the binding capacity of trivalent As/Sb with DOM was higher than that of pentavalent As/Sb with DOM. The DOM from the north nearshore area with the most acidic functional groups and greatest aromaticity possessed the highest binding capacity for trivalent and pentavalent As/Sb. The increase in the UV absorbance and the charge neutralization further indicated the interaction between As/Sb and DOM. The higher binding capacity of Sb(III) with DOM was mainly due to the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. Our study demonstrates that the use of the advanced EEM–PARAFAC method in fluorescence quenching studies is very useful for evaluating the properties of DOM–pollutant interactions.