The role of copper and oxalate in the redox cycling of iron in atmospheric waters

During daytime, the redox cycling of dissolved iron compounds in atmospheric waters, and the related in-cloud transformations of photooxidants, are affected by reactions of Fe and Cu with hydroperoxy (HO₂) and superoxide (O₂⁻) radicals and the photoreduction of Fe(III)-oxalato complexes. We have investigated several of the important chemical reactions in this redox cycle, through laboratory simulation of the system, using γ-radiation to produce HO₂/O₂⁻. At concentrations comparable to those measured in atmospheric waters, the redox cycling of Fe was dramatically affected by the presence of oxalate and trace concentrations of Cu. At concentrations more than a hundred times lower than Fe, Cu consumed most of the HO₂/O₂⁻, and cycled between the Cu(II) and Cu(I) forms. Cu⁺ reacted with FeOH²⁺ to produce Fe(II) and Cu(II), with a second order rate constant of approximately 3 × 10⁷ M⁻¹s⁻¹. The presence of oxalate resulted in the formation of Fe(III)-oxalato complexes that were essentially unreactive with HO₂/O₂⁻. Only at high oxalate concentrations was the Fe(II)C₂O₄ complex also formed, and it reacted relatively rapidly with hydrogen peroxide (k = (3.1 ± 0.6) × 10⁴ M⁻¹s⁻¹). Simulations incorporating measurements for other redox mechanisms, including oxidation by ozone, indicate that, during daytime, Fe should be found mostly in the ferrous oxidation state, and that reactions of FeOH²⁺ with Cu(I) and HO₂/O₂⁻, and to a lesser degree, the photolysis of Fe(III)-oxalato complexes, are important mechanisms of Fe reduction in atmospheric waters. The catalytic effect of Cu(II)/Cu(I) and Fe(III)/Fe(II) should also significantly increase the sink function of the atmospheric liquid phase for HO₂ present in a cloud. A simple kinetic model for the reactions of Fe, Cu and HO₂/O₂⁻, accurately predicted the changes in Fe oxidation states that occurred when authentic fogwater samples were exposed to HO₂/O₂⁻.