Because the transport of graphene oxide nanosheets (GO) from water to sediments is influenced by their heteroaggregation and sedimentation with natural colloids, knowledge on the interdependence of heteroaggregation and sedimentation for GO is needed to gain a better insight on the environmental fate of these nanosheets. However, this phenomenon is still not well understood. In this study, the heteroaggregation and sedimentation behaviors of GO with hematite nanoparticles (HemNPs) were investigated at various conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeteroaggregation of graphene oxide (GO) with nanometer- and micrometer-sized hematite colloids, which are naturally present in aquatic systems, is investigated in this study. The heteroaggregation rates between GO and hematite nanoparticles (HemNPs) were quantified by dynamic light scattering, while the heteroaggregation between GO and micrometer-sized hematite particles (HemMPs) was examined through batch adsorption and sedimentation experiments. The heteroaggregation rates of GO with HemNPs first increased and then decreased with increasing GO/HemNP mass concentration ratios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in aquatic environments could potentially cause adverse impacts on ecosystems and human health. However, current understanding of the environmental fate and transport of AgNPs is still limited because their properties in complex environmental samples cannot be accurately determined. In this study, the feasibility of using asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) connected online with single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICPMS) to detect and quantify AgNPs at environmentally relevant concentrations was investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe antimicrobial and bacterial anti-adhesive properties of polysulfone (PSU) membranes modified with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) composed of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and poly(acrylic acid) were investigated. The membranes' antimicrobial properties were evaluated using a colony forming unit (CFU) enumeration method, while the anti-adhesive properties of the membranes were examined using a direct microscopy observation membrane filtration system. The AgNP mass loading required for the inhibition of bacterial growth on the AgNP/PEM-modified membranes was significantly lower than the AgNP loadings reported in other studies for membranes with the nanoparticles dispersed within the membrane matrix.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Process Impacts
May 2014
In this study, the disaggregation behavior and the strength of heteroaggregates composed of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and hematite nanoparticles (HemNPs) were investigated in different solution chemistries. Negatively charged CNTs and positively charged HemNPs were first allowed to undergo favorable heteroaggregation at pH 5.5 and 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe heteroaggregation rates of negatively charged multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and positively charged hematite nanoparticles (HemNPs) were obtained over a broad range of nanoparticle distributions using time-resolved dynamic light scattering (DLS). Binary systems comprising CNTs and HemNPs were prepared using low ionic strength solutions to minimize the concurrent occurrence of homoaggregation. To elucidate the mechanisms of heteroaggregation, the structures of CNT-HemNP aggregates were observed using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aggregation kinetics of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) that were coated with two commonly used capping agents-citrate and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)--were investigated. Time-resolved dynamic light scattering (DLS) was employed to measure the aggregation kinetics of the AgNPs over a range of monovalent and divalent electrolyte concentrations. The aggregation behavior of citrate-coated AgNPs in NaCl was in excellent agreement with the predictions based on Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, and the Hamaker constant of citrate-coated AgNPs in aqueous solutions was derived to be 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF