Trichoderma viride involvement in the sorption of Pb(II) on muscovite, biotite and phlogopite: Batch and spectroscopic studies

[Display omitted] •Pb(II) sorption on micas strongly depended on pH or/and ionic strength.•Pb2+ could enter the interlayer of biotite and phlogopite causing expanded interlayer.•Co-culture of micas and T. viride resulted in the weathering of micas.•Sorption capacity of Pb(II) on micas was greatly improved in the presence of T. viride.•T. viride caused biomineralization of Pb(II) on micas forming lead phosphates. In this study, batch and spectroscopic approaches were used to explore the sorption of Pb(II) on micas (i.e., muscovite, biotite and phlogopite) in the presence of Trichoderma viride (T. viride). Batch sorption showed that ion exchange, outer-sphere complexes (OSCs) and inner-sphere complexes (ISCs) contributed to Pb(II) sorption on biotite and phlogopite in the pH range of 2.0–7.4, whereas the ISCs were predominant for Pb(II) sorption on muscovite. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analyses have confirmed the changes of structure and surface properties of micas after co-culturing with T. viride, which could improve the sorption capacity of micas to Pb(II). Scanning electron microscopy revealed the bio-mineralization of Pb(II) on T. viride and mica–T. viride composites forming lead phosphates. Furthermore, FT-IR analysis showed that the groups of Si−OH, Al−OH from micas, and carboxyl, phosphate and amino groups from T. viride were synergistically contributing to Pb(II) sorption on mica–T. viride composite. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy further confirmed that both OSCs and ISCs formed for Pb(II) sorption on micas; however, in the case of mica–T. viride composites, the synergistic effects of T. viride and micas were contributing to Pb(II) sorption through forming the ISCs and biomineralization.