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Transport of Nanoparticles of Zerovalent Copper, Zinc Oxide, and Titanium Dioxide in Saturated Porous Media
Citation:
Su, C., E. Jones, G. Chen, AND X. Liu. Transport of Nanoparticles of Zerovalent Copper, Zinc Oxide, and Titanium Dioxide in Saturated Porous Media. Presented at 57th ACS Oklahoma ACS Pentasectional Meeting, March 17, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation for the Symposium on Nanosciences at the 57th Annual Oklahoma ACS Pentasectional Meeting. Lawton, OK. March 17, 2012.
Description:
Column tests show nanoparticles (NPs) of Cu(0) and ZnO were immobile at neutral pH in saturated sand.They became mobile in the presence of trizma, humic/fulvic, and citric/oxalic/formic acids. Copper NPs were mobile at pH 9. The deposition rates of TiO2 NP aggregates in both KCl and CaCl2 solutions increased with increasing ionic strength, a trend consistent with traditional Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. However, the obtained NP retention profiles were found to deviate severely from the theory. It is suggested that TiO2 NP transport and retention are determined by the combined influence of NP aggregate reconformation affected by solution chemistry, travel distance, and DLVO interactions. Crystallinity and morphology are not influential factors in determining the stability of TiO2 nanoparticle suspensions; Instead, impurities (i.e., silicon and phosphorus) in the pristine materials, determined the surface charge and therefore the sedimentation and aggregation of TiO2 NPs in the aqueous phase.