Environmental geochemistry of thioantimony: formation, structure and transformation as compared with thioarsenic

Abstract

Antimony (Sb), a redox-sensitive toxic element, has received global attention due to the increased awareness of its rich geochemistry. The past two decades have witnessed the explosive development in geochemistry of oxyanionic Sb(OH)₃ and Sb(OH)₆⁻. Emerging thioantimony species (Sb–S) have recently been detected, which actually dominate the Sb mobility in sulfate-reducing environments. However, the instability and complexity of Sb–S present the most pressing challenges. To overcome these barriers, it is urgent to summarize the existing research on the environmental geochemistry of Sb–S. Since Sb–S is an analogous species to thioarsenic (As–S), a comparison between Sb–S and As–S will provide insightful information. Therefore, this review presents a way of comparing environmental geochemistry between Sb–S and As–S. Here, we summarize the formation and transformation of Sb–S and As–S, their chemical structures and analytical methods. Then, the challenges and perspectives are discussed. Finally, the important scientific questions that need to be addressed are also proposed.