
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mathers, Nicole J. 
A1  - Xu, Zhihong 
A1  - Berners-Price, Susan J. 
A1  - Senake Perera, M. C. 
A1  - Saffigna, Paul G. 
T1  - Hydrofluoric acid pre-treatment for improving <emph type="7">13</emph>C CPMAS NMR spectral quality of forest soils in south-east Queensland, Australia
JF  - Soil Research
JO  - Soil Res.
Y1  - 2002
VL  - 40
IS  - 4
SP  - 665
EP  - 674
KW  - NMR spectroscopy, soil organic matter, magnetic materials, iron removal, HF acid.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/SR01073 
N2  - Hydrofluoric acid (HF) was used to pre-treat forest soils of south-east Queensland for assessing the effectiveness of iron (Fe) removal, carbon (C) composition using 13C cross-polarisation (CP) with magic-angle-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) before and after the HF pre-treatment, and the improvement of 13C CPMAS NMR spectra. Soil samples were collected from 4 experimental sites of different soil types, harvest residue management or prescribed burning, and tree species. More than 86% of Fe was in all soil types removed by the HF treatment. The 13C NMR spectral quality was improved with increased resolution, especially in the alkyl C and O-alkyl C regions, and reduced NMR run-time (1-5 h per sample compared with >20 h per sample without the pre-treatment). The C composition appeared to alter slightly after the pre-treatment, but this might be largely due to improved spectrometer conditions and increased resolution leading to more accurate NMR spectral integration. Organic C recovery after HF pre-treatment varied with soil types and forest management, and soluble soil organic matter (SOM) could be lost during the pre-treatment. The Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectra of HF extracts indicated the preferential removal of carboxylic C groups during the pre-treatment, but this could also be due to adsorbed water on the mineral matter. The NMR spectra revealed some changes in C composition and quality due to residue management and decomposition. Overall, the HF treatment was a useful pre-treatment for obtaining semi-quantitative 13C CPMAS NMR spectra of subtropical Australian forest soils. 
ER  -

