The Effects of Iron and Manganese Doping on the Carbonation of Brucite [Mg(OH)2]

Dong Youn Chung; Juliane Weber; Lawrence M. Anovitz; Barbara R. Evans; Ke Yuan; Sai Adapa; Matthew G. Boebinger; Michael A. McGuire; Raphaël P. Hermann; George Yumnam; Joanne E. Stubbs; Peter J. Eng; Peter J. Heaney; Andrew G. Stack

doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c06987

The Effects of Iron and Manganese Doping on the Carbonation of Brucite [Mg(OH)₂]

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Abstract

Brucite [Mg(OH)₂] is a promising sorbent for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) due to its availability and low calcination temperatures. However, natural and synthetic brucites tend to contain metal impurities, such as iron or manganese, and how these impurities affect the interfacial chemical reactivity is uncertain. Here, the impact of low concentrations of iron and manganese impurities on the carbonation efficiency of Mg(OH)₂ was examined. Mg(OH)₂ with small amounts (1–5 mol %) of Fe and Mn was synthesized. The increasing substitution of Fe into Mg(OH)₂ was accompanied by the oxidation of Fe. The phase transformation sequence during the carbonation was found to be brucite [Mg(OH)₂] → amorphous magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃·nH₂O) → nesquehonite (MgCO₃·3H₂O), regardless of impurity concentration. Both the Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)₂ samples were more reactive than endmember Mg(OH)₂, possibly due to their higher surface areas and lower stabilities. During carbonation, 3 mol % Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)₂ showed the highest reactivity. The variance in reactivity for Mn-doped Mg(OH)₂ was less than that of Fe-doped Mg(OH)₂. These results suggest that natural or industrial waste Mg(OH)₂ with less than 5 mol % Fe and Mn impurities may be targeted as more effective CDR sorbents than endmember Mg(OH)₂.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2160-2170
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume	130
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c06987
State	Published - Feb 12 2026

Funding

This article is based on Chapter 3 of Dong Youn Chung̀s PhD thesis.(102)This work was mainly supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. TEM and SEM characterization was conducted as part of a user project at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The synchrotron XRD measurements were performed at GeoSoilEnviroCARS (The University of Chicago, Sector 13), Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). GeoSoilEnviroCARS was supported by the National Science Foundation─Earth Sciences (EAR-1634415). This research used resources of the APS, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by ANL under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Synchrotron-XRD measurements were funded by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) grant EAR-1925903, American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF), and the Pennsylvania State University.

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Chung, D. Y., Weber, J., Anovitz, L. M., Evans, B. R., Yuan, K., Adapa, S., Boebinger, M. G., McGuire, M. A., Hermann, R. P., Yumnam, G., Stubbs, J. E., Eng, P. J., Heaney, P. J., & Stack, A. G. (2026). The Effects of Iron and Manganese Doping on the Carbonation of Brucite [Mg(OH)₂]. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 130(6), 2160-2170. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c06987

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title = "The Effects of Iron and Manganese Doping on the Carbonation of Brucite [Mg(OH)2]",

abstract = "Brucite [Mg(OH)2] is a promising sorbent for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) due to its availability and low calcination temperatures. However, natural and synthetic brucites tend to contain metal impurities, such as iron or manganese, and how these impurities affect the interfacial chemical reactivity is uncertain. Here, the impact of low concentrations of iron and manganese impurities on the carbonation efficiency of Mg(OH)2 was examined. Mg(OH)2 with small amounts (1–5 mol \%) of Fe and Mn was synthesized. The increasing substitution of Fe into Mg(OH)2 was accompanied by the oxidation of Fe. The phase transformation sequence during the carbonation was found to be brucite [Mg(OH)2] → amorphous magnesium carbonate (MgCO3·nH2O) → nesquehonite (MgCO3·3H2O), regardless of impurity concentration. Both the Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 samples were more reactive than endmember Mg(OH)2, possibly due to their higher surface areas and lower stabilities. During carbonation, 3 mol \% Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 showed the highest reactivity. The variance in reactivity for Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 was less than that of Fe-doped Mg(OH)2. These results suggest that natural or industrial waste Mg(OH)2 with less than 5 mol \% Fe and Mn impurities may be targeted as more effective CDR sorbents than endmember Mg(OH)2.",

author = "Chung, \{Dong Youn\} and Juliane Weber and Anovitz, \{Lawrence M.\} and Evans, \{Barbara R.\} and Ke Yuan and Sai Adapa and Boebinger, \{Matthew G.\} and McGuire, \{Michael A.\} and Hermann, \{Rapha{\"e}l P.\} and George Yumnam and Stubbs, \{Joanne E.\} and Eng, \{Peter J.\} and Heaney, \{Peter J.\} and Stack, \{Andrew G.\}",

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doi = "10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c06987",

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T1 - The Effects of Iron and Manganese Doping on the Carbonation of Brucite [Mg(OH)2]

AU - Chung, Dong Youn

AU - Weber, Juliane

AU - Anovitz, Lawrence M.

AU - Evans, Barbara R.

AU - Yuan, Ke

AU - Adapa, Sai

AU - Boebinger, Matthew G.

AU - McGuire, Michael A.

AU - Hermann, Raphaël P.

AU - Yumnam, George

AU - Stubbs, Joanne E.

AU - Eng, Peter J.

AU - Heaney, Peter J.

AU - Stack, Andrew G.

PY - 2026/2/12

Y1 - 2026/2/12

N2 - Brucite [Mg(OH)2] is a promising sorbent for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) due to its availability and low calcination temperatures. However, natural and synthetic brucites tend to contain metal impurities, such as iron or manganese, and how these impurities affect the interfacial chemical reactivity is uncertain. Here, the impact of low concentrations of iron and manganese impurities on the carbonation efficiency of Mg(OH)2 was examined. Mg(OH)2 with small amounts (1–5 mol %) of Fe and Mn was synthesized. The increasing substitution of Fe into Mg(OH)2 was accompanied by the oxidation of Fe. The phase transformation sequence during the carbonation was found to be brucite [Mg(OH)2] → amorphous magnesium carbonate (MgCO3·nH2O) → nesquehonite (MgCO3·3H2O), regardless of impurity concentration. Both the Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 samples were more reactive than endmember Mg(OH)2, possibly due to their higher surface areas and lower stabilities. During carbonation, 3 mol % Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 showed the highest reactivity. The variance in reactivity for Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 was less than that of Fe-doped Mg(OH)2. These results suggest that natural or industrial waste Mg(OH)2 with less than 5 mol % Fe and Mn impurities may be targeted as more effective CDR sorbents than endmember Mg(OH)2.

AB - Brucite [Mg(OH)2] is a promising sorbent for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) due to its availability and low calcination temperatures. However, natural and synthetic brucites tend to contain metal impurities, such as iron or manganese, and how these impurities affect the interfacial chemical reactivity is uncertain. Here, the impact of low concentrations of iron and manganese impurities on the carbonation efficiency of Mg(OH)2 was examined. Mg(OH)2 with small amounts (1–5 mol %) of Fe and Mn was synthesized. The increasing substitution of Fe into Mg(OH)2 was accompanied by the oxidation of Fe. The phase transformation sequence during the carbonation was found to be brucite [Mg(OH)2] → amorphous magnesium carbonate (MgCO3·nH2O) → nesquehonite (MgCO3·3H2O), regardless of impurity concentration. Both the Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 samples were more reactive than endmember Mg(OH)2, possibly due to their higher surface areas and lower stabilities. During carbonation, 3 mol % Fe- and Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 showed the highest reactivity. The variance in reactivity for Mn-doped Mg(OH)2 was less than that of Fe-doped Mg(OH)2. These results suggest that natural or industrial waste Mg(OH)2 with less than 5 mol % Fe and Mn impurities may be targeted as more effective CDR sorbents than endmember Mg(OH)2.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105030251975

U2 - 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c06987

DO - 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c06987

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105030251975

SN - 1932-7447

VL - 130

SP - 2160

EP - 2170

JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry C

JF - Journal of Physical Chemistry C

IS - 6

ER -

The Effects of Iron and Manganese Doping on the Carbonation of Brucite [Mg(OH)₂]

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