Using frontal affinity chromatography to study how silver binds with particulates

Frontal affinity chromatography was applied to characterizing the mechanism of binding of silver with sediment particulates collected from Lake Ontario, Canada. The results showed that there was one major binding site for Ag+ in the particulates. The binding capacity ranges from 6.06 to 1.01 μ?mol?g-1, and the binding constant (lgK) from 6.23 to 7.43 M-1 in 0.005 M ion strength at pH=3–7. The binding capacity and affinity constant were found to be pH-dependent. It is suggested that the particulate surface site where silver was bound was the anionic base. This study would be helpful for better understanding of the fundamental environmental chemistry of silver in sediments.