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ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIORS OF SOLUBILIZED CARBON NANOTUBES IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS:TRANSFORMATION, SORPTION, AND TOXICITY EXPOSURE
Impact/Purpose:
The proposed study is aimed to understand the fundamentals that may govern the risks related to aquatic exposure of water-dispersed carbon nanotubes. Several key environmental behaviors relating to aquatic exposure of carbon nanotubes will be investigated, and the studies are designed to examine four specific hypotheses: I) Solubilized carbon nanotubes can be transformed in the environment through certain catalytic oxidative processes, leading to the modification of their physicochemical properties, II) Sorption of solubilized carbon nanotubes on sediments is related to the physicochemical properties of the nanotubes and the sediment materials, resulting in property-dependent differential distribution of the carbon nanotubes in the water and the sediment phases, III) Accumulation and toxicity of solubilized carbon nanotubes by aquatic organisms are dependent on certain physicochemical properties of the nanotubes. Optimal combinations of nanotube size and surface chemistry are predicted to increase bioaccumulation in fish and thus increase their toxicity, and IV) Properties of carbon nanotubes that promote bioaccumulation will also promote transfers of these materials from organism to organism via maternal and trophic transfer mechanisms.
Description:
The proposed study is expected to provide fundamental and systematic information regarding the environmental and exposure behaviors of solubilized carbon nanotubes. This information will enable science-informed assessments of the environmental risks related to aquatic exposure of water-dispersed carbon nanotubes in various scenarios. Such proactive assessments are critically needed by U.S.EPA and the science community to guide a safe development, production, distribution, and disposal of carbon nanomaterials.