Sorption of Sb(III) on carbon steel surface in presence of molybdate and selenite in citric acid medium

Sorption of Sb(III) on carbon steel surface in aqueous medium (pH 2.8) in presence of different oxyanions like molybdate and selenite has been studied. It is observed that the presence of molybdate or selenite in solution reduced Sb(III) adsorption and surface precipitation to a great extent. The solution at different stages of the adsorption experiment has been analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy technique. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques have been used to characterize the precipitate layer and the adsorbed layer. A detailed analysis of the XPS data reveals the mechanism involved in the two cases.