Preferential uptake of ammonium ions by zinc ferrocyanide

Abstract

The concentration of ammonia from dilute aqueous solution could have facilitated many prebiotic reactions. This may be especially true if this concentration involves incorporation into an organized medium. We have shown that (unlike iron(III) ferrocy anide) zinc ferrocyanide, Zn2 Fe (CN)6·xH2O, preferentially takes up ammonium ions from 0.01 M NH4Cl to give the known material Zn3(NH4)2 [Fe(CN)6]2·xH2O, even in the presence of 0.01M KC1. KC1 alone gave Zn3K2[Fe(CN)6]2·xH2O. Products were characterized by elemental (CHN) analysis and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). We attribute the remarkable specificity for the ammonium ion to the open framework of the product, which offers enough space for hydrogen-bonded ammonium ions, and infer that other inorganic materials with internal spaces rich in water may show a similar preference. © 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers.