SASKATOON – An international team has used the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan to uncover the elusive structure of two arsenic-containing compounds, information that can be used to prevent and predict arsenic contamination.
Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment, and it is present in ore deposits and the waste left behind by mining for gold, uranium, and other metals. The concern with arsenic-containing compounds is that soil sources can find their way into waterways. Understanding how this happens on a structural level can help scientists -- and industry -- better understand how the two are formed and better protect the surrounding environment from potential arsenic contamination.
Discovered more than 100 years ago, yukonite and arseniosiderite have concealed their structure from scientists thanks to their low crystallinity, and usual methods have come up short in painting a clear picture of their structure.
Using a special technique at the CLS, an international team of researchers from Canada, China, the USA, Italy, and Ireland was able to visualize for the first time how atoms are structured in samples of arseniosiderite and yukonite.
The team’s findings were published recently in the journal Environmental Science Nano.
For McGill University graduate Mario Alberto Gomez, one of the project’s leads, it’s appropriate the discovery was made using the first Canadian beamline capable of doing this type of analysis. “I think it was quite fitting that this mineral (yukonite) was discovered in Canada, in the Yukon, a long time ago, and then we were doing research on it. And now we were able to finally get a clearer picture of it using a Canadian synchrotron.”
Originally from Canada but currently a visiting professor at China’s Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Gomez draws parallels between his team’s findings and how knowing the structure of the COVID-19 coronavirus helps scientists understand how it functions, which in turn enables drug companies to develop vaccines.
For example, other natural and lab-based studies have shown that when yukonite and arseniosiderite are placed in a solution containing calcium, they release less arsenic. “Knowing their structure now will help us better understand why this happens.”
