Quantitation in the Solid-State 13C NMR Analysis of Soil and Organic Soil Fractions

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Abstract
13C CP-MAS and DP-MAS spin-counting experiments have been carried out on an absolute basis for a specific whole soil and its humin, humic acid, and fulvic acid fractions, as well as a sample of the soil that was treated with 2% HF(aq). The results confirm previous conclusions that a substantial fraction of the carbon content indicated by classic elemental analysis is missed in some samples, especially whole soil and humin, by both CP-MAS and DP-MAS 13C NMR methods, and that the problem is more serious for CP-MAS than for DP-MAS. This study also confirms the fact that treatment of soil organic matter with 2% HF(aq) dramatically reduces this problem but may generate some structural uncertainties associated with significant structural alterations that accompany the HF(aq) treatment, as indicated by the 13C NMR data. The relationship between the “missing carbon” problem and the concentration of paramagnetic centers, especially Fe(III) centers, is explored in substantial detail.