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Parameterizing A Surface Water Model for Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
Citation:
Bouchard, D., X. Chang, Chris Knightes, AND I. Chowdhury. Parameterizing A Surface Water Model for Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes. Presented at 247th ACS National Meeting, Dallas, TX, March 16 - 20, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
Poster presented at the 247th Annual ACS Spring Meeting in Dallas, TX
Description:
The unique electronic, mechanical, and structural properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has lead to increasing production of these versatile materials; currently, the use of carbon-based nanomaterials in consumer products is second only to that of nano-scale silver. Although there is a growing literature on the 'lab fate' of CNTs, there is much less information on the transport and fate of these materials in the natural environment. In this study, an approach for parameterizing the Water quality Analysis and Simulation Program (WASP) is presented. WASP has seen significant use for modeling the fate and transport of dissolved contaminants in surface waters, but has not been applied for nanomaterials. Data from quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and batch adsorption studies using natural porous media (two sands and a sediment) are used to parameterize WASP for multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) deposition on model and actual environmental surfaces. To present a range of MWNT properties, deposition of both MWNTs and hydroxylated MWNTs were investigated; to present a range of aqueous conditions, deposition was measured over a range of ionic strength. Initial results indicate a significant kinetic effect for MWNT deposition on the natural porous media surfaces with deposition approaching complete MWNT deposition on the surfaces in < 10 days. Surface deposition measurements are used to parameterize WASP for simulating MWNT transport in a simple riverine system in the Savannah River basin.
