{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T05:22:23Z","timestamp":1787980943564,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,3]],"date-time":"2022-03-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1646265600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2020R1F1A1067852"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020R1F1A1067852"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The presence of inorganic and organic substances may alter the physicochemical properties of iron (Fe) salt precipitates, thereby stabilizing the antimony (Sb) oxyanions in potable water during the chemical treatment process. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the surface characteristics, size of Fe flocs and coagulation performance of Sb oxyanions under different aqueous matrices. The results showed that surface properties of Fe flocs significantly varies with pH in both Sb(III, V) suspensions, thereby increasing the mobility of Sb(V) ions in alkaline conditions. The negligible change in surface characteristics of Fe flocs was observed in pure water and Sb(III, V) suspension at pH 7. The key role of Van der Waals forces of attraction as well as hydration force in the aggregation of early formed flocs were found, with greater agglomeration capability at higher more ferric chloride dosage. The higher Sb(V) loading decreased the size of Fe flocs and reversed the surface charge of precipitates, resulting in a significant reduction in Sb(V) removal efficiency. The competitive inhibition effect on Sb(III, V) removal was noticed in the presence of phosphate anions, owing to lowering of \u03b6-potential values towards more negative trajectory. The presence of hydrophobic organic matter (humic acid) significantly altered the surface characteristics of Fe flocs, thereby affecting the coagulation behavior of Sb in water as compared to the hydrophilic (salicylic acid). Overall, the findings of this research may provide a new insight into the variation in physicochemical characteristics of Fe flocs and Sb removal behavior in the presence of inorganic and organic compounds during the drinking water treatment process.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27051663","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,3]],"date-time":"2022-03-03T09:24:53Z","timestamp":1646299493000},"page":"1663","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Coagulation Behavior of Antimony Oxyanions in Water: Influence of pH, Inorganic and Organic Matter on the Physicochemical Characteristics of Iron Precipitates"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3812-0801","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Ali","family":"Inam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (IESE), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (SCEE), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kang Hoon","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Energy and Environmental Engineering, The Catholic University of Korea, 43 Jibong-ro, Bucheon-si 14662, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hira Lal","family":"Soni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology (QUEST), Nawabshah 67480, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2113-4660","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kashif Hussain","family":"Mangi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology (QUEST), Nawabshah 67480, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdul Sami","family":"Channa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology (QUEST), Nawabshah 67480, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2707-6051","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rizwan","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical Engineering, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology (QUEST), Nawabshah 67480, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3697-8938","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Young Min","family":"Wie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Engineering, Kyonggi University, Suwon 16227, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2053-5884","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ki Gang","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Materials Engineering, Kyonggi University, Suwon 16227, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1080\/10643389.2012.718947","article-title":"Coagulation with hydrolyzing metal salts: Mechanisms and water quality impacts","volume":"44","author":"Davis","year":"2014","journal-title":"Crit. 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