Interfacial interactions of nanoscale zero-valent iron particles with clay minerals in the aquatic environments: Experimental and theoretical calculation study.

The environmental transport and fate of nanoscale zero-valent iron particles (nZVI) in soil and groundwater can be altered by their hetero-aggregation with clay mineral particles (CMP). This study examines the interactions between bare or carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-coated nZVI with typical CMP, specifically kaolinite and montmorillonite. Methods include co-settling experiments, aggregation kinetic studies, electron microscopy, Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) and extended DLVO (EDLVO) energy analysis, and density functional theory calculations, focusing on the pH dependency of these interactions.