Particle size distributions of silver nanoparticles at environmentally relevant conditions

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are becoming increasingly popular as antimicrobial agents in consumer goods with consequent risk to environmental health from discharges. Environmentally relevant fate and transport investigations are limited but essential to gain understanding towards bioavailability and toxicology. In this study, monodisperse 15 nm citrate-stabilised Ag NPs were synthesised, characterised and then fractionated by flow field-flow fractionation (FlFFF) at environmentally relevant conditions (pH 5 or 8, presence of natural organic macromolecules (NOM) and presence of sodium or calcium). At low ionic strength, Ag NPs particle size increased as pH increased from 5 to 8. However, changing the ionic strength from 10⁻³ to 10⁻² M Na increased instability of the Ag NPs, and loss of peak at pH 5 but in the presence of humic substance (HS), a reduction in NP size was seen, most likely due to a reduction in the diffuse layer. The presence of Ca²⁺ ions, at the higher ionic strengths caused complete loss of the solution Ag NPs with or without HS, most likely due to aggregation. At the lower Ca²⁺ ionic strength the Ag NPs were still unstable, but again, in the presence of HS the NPs were largely dispersed. The presence of HS improved stability of Ag NPs under these conditions by forming a surface coating resulting in both steric and charge stabilisation. This work implies that Ag NPs could have long residence times in aquatic systems in the presence of HS potentially resulting in increased bioavailability.     

ICP-MS-based characterization of inorganic nanoparticles—sample preparation and off-line fractionation strategies

Validated and easily applicable analytical tools are required to develop and implement regulatory frameworks and an appropriate risk assessment for engineered nanoparticles (ENPs). Concerning metal-based ENPs, two main aspects are the quantification of the absolute mass concentration and of the “dissolved” fraction in, e.g., (eco)toxicity and environmental studies. To provide information on preparative aspects and on potential uncertainties, preferably simple off-line methods were compared to determine (1) the total concentration of suspensions of five metal-based ENP materials (Ag, TiO₂, CeO₂, ZnO, and Au; two sizes), and (2) six methods to quantify the “dissolved” fraction of an Ag ENP suspension. Focusing on inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, the total concentration of the ENP suspensions was determined by direct measurement, after acidification and after microwave-assisted digestion. Except for Au 10 nm, the total concentrations determined by direct measurements were clearly lower than those measured after digestion (between 61.1 % for Au 200 nm and 93.7 % for ZnO). In general, acidified suspensions delivered better recoveries from 89.3 % (ZnO) to 99.3 % (Ag). For the quantification of dissolved fractions two filtration methods (ultrafiltration and tangential flow filtration), centrifugation and ion selective electrode were mainly appropriate with certain limitations, while dialysis and cloud point extraction cannot be recommended. With respect to precision, time consumption, applicability, as well as to economic demands, ultrafiltration in combination with microwave digestion was identified as best practice.

Formation of ionic liquid submicron particles. 1H and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies

We prepared novel ionic liquid submicron particles (ILSPs) in water by emulsifying the ionic liquid (IL) N-(2-methoxyethyl)-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Pyr_12O1TFSI), which is immiscible with water, with the nonionic surfactants Tween 20 and Span 80. The mean particle size and zeta potential of the ILSPs were about 580?nm and ?30?mV, respectively. The ILSPs were characterized using ¹H and ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods. The chemical shifts of the Pyr_12O1⁺ cation and TFSI^? anion in the ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR spectra of the ILSP suspension were consistent with those corresponding to pure Pyr_12O1TFSI. This indicated that most of the Pyr_12O1TFSI was still in the IL state in the ILSP suspension. In addition, ¹H–¹H nuclear Overhauser effect correlated spectroscopic measurements showed that the ILSP droplets contained Pyr_12O1TFSI in the neat IL steric state even in the ILSP suspension, and Pyr_12O1TFSI species localized in the droplet surfaces interacted with the hydrophobic acyl side chains of the surfactants. These NMR spectroscopic results show that the ILSPs formed an IL-in-water microemulsion in which droplets of neat Pyr_12O1TFSI were surrounded by the two surfactants, that is, Tween 20 and Span 80.     

Detection and characterization of silver nanoparticles in chicken meat by asymmetric flow field flow fractionation with detection by conventional or single particle ICP-MS

A method of analysis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in chicken meat was developed. The homogenized chicken meat sample, which was spiked with AgNPs, was subjected to enzymolysis by Proteinase K for 40 min at 37 °C. Transmission electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in single particle mode were used to characterize the number-based size distribution of AgNPs in the meat digestate. Because similar size distributions were found in the meat digestate and in the aqueous suspension of AgNPs used for spiking the meat, it was shown that no detectable dissolution of the AgNPs took place during the sample preparation stage. The digestate was injected into the asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF⁴) -ICP-MS system, which enabled fractionation of nanoparticles from the remaining meat matrix, and resulted in one large peak in the fractograms as well as two smaller peaks eluting close to the void volume. The recovery of silver contained in the large AgNP peak was around 80 %. Size determination of AgNPs in the meat matrix, based on external size calibration of the AF⁴ channel, was hampered by non-ideal (early elution) behavior of the AgNPs. Single particle ICP-MS was applied for determination of the number-based particle size distribution of AgNPs in collected fractions. The presented work describes for the first time the coupling of AF⁴ and ICP-MS for AgNP separation in a food matrix.     

Species selective preconcentration and quantification of gold nanoparticles using cloud point extraction and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The determination of metallic nanoparticles in environmental samples requires sample pretreatment that ideally combines pre-concentration and species selectivity. With cloud point extraction (CPE) using the surfactant Triton X-114 we present a simple and cost effective separation technique that meets both criteria. Effective separation of ionic gold species and Au nanoparticles (Au-NPs) is achieved by using sodium thiosulphate as a complexing agent. The extraction efficiency for Au-NP ranged from 1.01 ± 0.06 (particle size 2 nm) to 0.52 ± 0.16 (particle size 150 nm). An enrichment factor of 80 and a low limit of detection of 5 ng L⁻¹ is achieved using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS) for quantification. TEM measurements showed that the particle size is not affected by the CPE process. Natural organic matter (NOM) is tolerated up to a concentration of 10 mg L⁻¹. The precision of the method expressed as the standard deviation of 12 replicates at an Au-NP concentration of 100 ng L⁻¹ is 9.5%. A relation between particle concentration and the extraction efficiency was not observed. Spiking experiments showed a recovery higher than 91% for environmental water samples.     

Influence of natural organic matter on the transport and deposition of zinc oxide nanoparticles in saturated porous media

The significance of natural organic matter (NOM, both humic acid and alginate) on the transport and deposition kinetics of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in irregular quartz sand was examined by direct comparison of both breakthrough curves and retained profiles with NOM present in NPs suspension versus those obtained without NOM. Packed column experiments were conducted in both NaCl and CaCl(2) solutions under a series of environmentally relevant ionic strengths. Under all examined conditions, breakthrough plateaus with NOM even at concentration as low as 1mgL(-1) of total organic carbon (TOC) were higher than those without NOM, indicating that presence of NOM in NPs suspensions enhanced ZnO NPs transport. Although hyper-exponential retained profiles were observed both in the presence and absence of NOM, the amount of retained ZnO NPs acquired in the presence of NOM decreased slowly as the transport distance increased. Straining induced by concurrent aggregation is found to cause the hyper-exponential decrease. In the presence of NOM, electrosteric interaction effectively reduced the ZnO NPs deposition on collector surfaces and NPs-NPs aggregation. Subsequently, the amount of NPs that jammed in the column inlet in the absence of NOM were markedly decreased, which therefore exhibited as flatter retained profiles.     

Dispersion stability and rheological behavior of suspensions of polystyrene coated fumed silica particles in polystyrene solutions

Polystyrene coated silica（SiO₂@PS） core-shell composite particles with averaged diameter of about 290 nm were prepared by in situ emulsion polymerization of styrene on the surface ofγ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane grafted SiO₂ nanoparticles of 20-50 nm in diameter.Rheological behavior and dispersion stability of SiO₂@PS suspension in 10 wt%PS solution were compared with suspensions of untreated SiO₂ and silane modified SiO₂ nanoparticles.Suspensions of the untreated and the silane modified SiO₂ exhibited obvious shear thinning.The SiO-2@PS suspension exhibits shear viscosity considerably smaller than suspensions of untreated and silane modified SiO₂ at low shear rates.Transmission electron microscopy showed that the composite particles can uniformly and stably disperse in PS solution compared to other suspensions,implying that the PS shell can effectively enhance the particle compatibility with PS macromolecules in solution.     

Properties of different natural organic matter influence the adsorption and aggregation behavior of TiO2 nanoparticles

Natural organic matter (NOM) has considerable influence on the aggregation and stability of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs). However, the effect of chemical properties of NOM on the interface interaction and the aggregation process is still not clear. In this study, we investigated the effects of two typical types of NOM (fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA)) on its adsorption onto TiO₂ nanoparticles and their aggregation behavior in aqueous phase. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was used to study their functional groups, indicating that HA has a stronger hydrophobicity than FA. The presence of HA or FA lowered the critical coagulation concentration (CCC) of TiO₂ NPs, while FA showed a more significant effect. HA promotes the aggregation of TiO₂ NPs when ionic strength (IS) > CCC, which was likely due to the bridging effect. Contact angle measurements indicate that HA has higher hydrophobic properties than FA, and it is easier to transfer from water to the surface of TiO₂ NPs. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was applied to investigate the aggregate formation and colloid interface morphology of NOM-coated-TiO₂ NPs and NOM entanglement. Different structures of HA and FA result in various behavior and their interface interaction mechanisms including IS-induced entanglement and NOM/IS bridging.     

Transmission electron microscopy of the natural organic matter of surface waters

Some components of aquatic natural organic matter (NOM) can be analysed effectively by methods of particle analysis employing transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with multi-method analytical approaches in the field, minimum perturbation techniques for sample handling and technology transfer from the biomedical sciences. The NOM components, include fulvic acids, colloidal fibrils and organic polymers of MW > 30 000. The use of a water-compatible embedding resin permits shape and size analyses of colloidal NOM (1–1000 nm) in ultrathin sections which minimize the misleading dehydration artifacts of the past. Experimentally induced perturbations allow one to follow aggregation/coagulation events at 1 nm resolution, while permitting the analyst to relate some components of coagulum structure to chemical entities. This review presents the current status of attempts to optimize a combination of analytical chemistry and transmission electron microscopy for describing NOM and its behaviour in surface waters.     

On the evolution of the rate of polymerization,number and size distribution of particles in styrene emulsion polymerization above CMC

This work is an extension of a communication reported by two of the authors [Carro and Herrera‐Ordoñez, Macromol Rapid Commun 2006, 27, 274], where bimodal particle size distributions (PSD), obtained by asymmetric flow‐field flow fractionation (AFFF, AF⁴), were taken as evidence of certain degree of stability of primary particles. Now, emulsion polymerizations of styrene were performed under conditions employed before by other researchers, intending to examine if the behavior observed is general. The number of particles (N) and PSD were studied by means of dynamic light scattering and AF⁴. By the later, bimodal PSDs were detected in all cases, where the population corresponding to primary particles (diameter <20 nm) depends on reaction conditions. Regarding N, AF⁴ results show that it is constant during interval II, in contrast to DLS results. Primary particle coagulation was evidenced as minimums in N evolution and the rate of polymerization curves, monitored by calorimetry and gravimetry, which are enhanced when higher particle number is generated and/or the ionic strength is increased. These results suggest that particle coagulation is not as extensive as it would be expected according to the coagulative theory. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3152–3160, 2010     

Physical properties of suspension ZnO nanoparticles prepared by wet chemical method: Comparison study

In this work a suspension of Nano-crystalline of ZnO particle is prepared by wet chemical at different temperature and concentration. From FTIR spectral exhibit present of Zn–O bond which indicate to formation ZnO particles. While all suspension and nano films exhibit a high transmittance in visible region about 90% which falls sharply in the UV region. The particle size is measured by using effective mass approximation (EMA), which was approximation (1.7–1.96 nm), and the band gap changes from 3.95 to 4.52eV for nanoparticles in suspension, and change from 3.76 to 3.94 eV for nanoparticles in ZnO film, which is change as function of concentration, temperature and aging time. Hall Effect measurements for ZnO films exhibit n-type conductivity for films deposited with activation energy 0.742eV at high temperature and 0.178eV at low temperature which is different as prepared sample conditions. Also the nanoparticle suspension and nanoparticle film could be implemented as a filter with variable cut off (8.9 × 10¹⁴–1.28 × 10¹⁵) H_Z.     

Synthesis and vibrational spectroscopy of halotrichite and bilinite

The new uranyl complexes with tetradentate unsymmetrical N₂O₂ Schiff base ligands were synthesized and characterized by IR, UV–vis, NMR and elemental analysis. The DMF solvent is coordinated to uranyl complexes. The thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermoanalysis (DTA) of the uranyl complexes were carried out in the range of 20–700 °C. The UO₂L¹ complex was decomposed in two and the others were decomposed in three stages. Up to 100 °C, the coordinated solvent was released then the Schiff base ligands were decomposed in one or two steps. Decomposition of synthesized complexes is related to the Schiff base characteristics. The thermal decomposition reaction is first order for the studied complexes.     

NO donors cis-[Ru(bpy)2(L)NO] and [Fe(CN)4(L)NO] complexes immobilized on modified mesoporous silica spheres

The reaction of [Ru(bpy)₂Cl₂] and Na₂[Fe(CN)₄(dmso)₂] complexes with isonicotinic acid immobilized on silica spheres (Si-ATPS-ISN) followed by a NO bubbling produced Si-ATPS-ISN-[Ru(bpy)₂(NO)] (system I) and Si-ATPS-ISN-[Fe(CN)₄(NO)] (system II). The characterization of these systems was carried out by UV–Vis, FTIR spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. As judged by the FTIR data, the nitric oxide ligand has an NO⁺ character in both systems (ν(NO⁺): 1938 cm⁻¹). The NO release, which was monitored by means of FTIR, electrochemistry, and NO sensor electrode, was observed for both systems upon white light irradiation and chemical reduction by cysteine. These results indicated that the system (II) presents a higher potential for controlled NO release. The characterization (FTIR and UV–Vis) of the systems after the NO release suggested the formation of the aqua systems ATPS-ISN-[Ru(bpy)₂(OH₂)] and ATPS-ISN-[Ru(bpy)₂(OH₂)].     

Europium (III) and Uranium (VI) complexation by natural organic matter (NOM): Effect of source

For the safe long‐term storage of high‐level radioactive waste (HLW), detailed information about geo‐chemical behavior of radioactive and toxic metal ions under environmental conditions is important. Natural organic matter (NOM) can play a crucial role in the immobilization or mobilization of these metal ions due to its complexation and colloid formation tendency. In this study, the complexation of europium (as chemical homologue of trivalent actinides such as americium) and uranium (as main component of HLW) by ten humic acids (HA) from different sources and Suwannee NOM river extract has been analyzed. Capillary electrophoresis in combination with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been used for the evaluation of complex stability constants log β. In order to determine the complex stability constants a conservative single site model was used in this study. In dependence of their source and thus of NOM structure the log β values for the analyzed humic acids are in the range of 6.1–7.0 for Eu(III) and 5.2–6.4 for U(VI) (UO₂²⁺), respectively. In contrast to the results for HA the used Suwannee river NOM reveals log β values in the range of nearly two orders of magnitude lower (4.6 for Eu³⁺ and 4.5 for UO₂²⁺) under the geochemical conditions applied in this study.     

Biosynthesis, purification and characterization of silver nanoparticles using Escherichia coli

The application of nanoscale materials and structures, usually ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm), is an emerging area of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanomaterials may provide solutions to technological and environmental challenges in the areas of solar energy conversion, catalysis, medicine, and water-treatment. The development of techniques for the controlled synthesis of nanoparticles of well-defined size, shape and composition, to be used in the biomedical field and areas such as optics and electronics, has become a big challenge. Development of reliable and eco-friendly processes for synthesis of metallic nanoparticles is an important step in the field of application of nanotechnology. One of the options to achieve this objective is to use ‘natural factories’ such as biological systems. This study reports the optimal conditions for maximum synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through reduction of Ag⁺ ions by the culture supernatant of Escherichia coli. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were purified by using sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The purified sample was further characterized by UV–vis spectra, fluorescence spectroscopy and TEM. The purified solution yielded the maximum absorbance peak at 420 nm and the TEM characterization showed a uniform distribution of nanoparticles, with an average size of 50 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrum of the silver nanoparticles exhibited 2θ values corresponding to the silver nanocrystal. The size-distribution of nanoparticles was determined using a particle-size analyzer and the average particle size was found to be 50 nm. This study also demonstrates that particle size could be controlled by varying the parameters such as temperature, pH and concentration of AgNO₃.     

Phosphonium-phosphates/thiophosphates: Ionic liquids or liquid ion pairs? NMR spectroscopic classification

Structurally unique ionic liquids phosphonium-phosphate and phosphonium-thiophosphate, having both phosphorus based counter ions, in which the anionic part is represented by di-aryl phosphate or di-aryl thiophosphate and cations been tetraalkylphosphonium groups, behave differently in terms of their NMR behaviour. While phosphonium-phosphates show significant changes in its ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR chemical shifts vis. á vis. corresponding chemical shifts for a physical mixture of tetraalkylphosphonium bromide and di-aryl phosphate, phosphonium-thiophosphates behave almost similarly in terms of NMR with their synthetic precursors, hence indicating phosphate-phosphonium interaction has a significant covalent component resembling more to a liquid ion pair while thiophosphate-phosphonium interaction is principally ionic in nature. Translational diffusion behavior studied by PFGSE-NMR experiments and ionic conductivities of these ionic liquids in chloroform solution corroborated the hypothesis. The effect of variable alkyl chain length in phosphonium cation is effectively observed in the extent of ion association. Results of this study may provide insight into the solution state behavior of these ionic liquids, would help to classify those in terms of their strength of ion association and thus potential application thereof.     

Electrorheological properties of suspensions of hollow globular titanium oxide/polypyrrole particles

Hollow globular clusters of titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. The prepared particles were consequently coated by in situ polymerization of conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) to obtain novel core–shell structured particles as a dispersed phase in electrorheological (ER) suspensions. The X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy provided information on particle composition and morphology. It appeared that PPy coating improved the compatibility of dispersed particles with silicone oil which results in higher sedimentation stability compared to that of mere TiO₂ particles-based ER suspension. The ER properties were investigated under both steady and oscillatory shears. It was found that TiO₂/PPy particles-based suspension showed higher ER activity than that of mere TiO₂ hollow globular clusters. These observations were elucidated well in view of their dielectric spectra analysis; a larger dielectric loss enhancement and faster interfacial polarization were responsible for a higher ER activity of core–shell structured TiO₂/PPy-based suspensions. Investigation of changes in ER properties of prepared suspensions as a function of particles concentration, viscosity of silicone oil used as a suspension medium, and electric field strength applied was also performed.     

Interaction of Molybdenum(VI) Oxyanions with +2 Metal Cations

The association of molybdenum(VI) oxyanions with metal cations was investigated in solutions of low ionic strength, such as those prevailing in most natural waters. Potentiometric titrations were carried out for the systems containing molybdenum(VI) anions and divalent metal cations (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb). This selection includes the major cations and some other cations of high environmental relevance. The interaction of iron(III) with Mo(VI) anions was also studied. At neutral and basic pH values and for those systems where the solubility of the molybdate salt is high enough, ionic species pairs such as [M(MoO₄)] predominate. At acidic pH values, [M(HMoO₄)]⁺ and [M(Mo₇O₂₄)]^4– are formed, the latter species are only relevant for total molybdenum concentrations higher than 1 mmol·L^?1. These results provide the basis for molybdenum speciation in natural aquatic systems, on which the environmental fate, bioavailability and toxicity of the element depend.     

Effects of particle size segregation on crossflow microfiltration performance: Control mechanism for concentration polarisation and particle fractionation

Although the principal mechanisms of crossflow microfiltration (MF) are well-known, the practical applicability of the resulting microfiltration models is still limited. This can be largely attributed to the lack of understanding of effects of polydispersity in the particulate suspensions, as relevant to concentration polarisation in MF. This paper describes an investigation of concentration polarisation behaviour of bidisperse suspensions, in the regime where shear-induced diffusion is the dominant back-transport mechanism. In the transient flux regime, the particle deposition onto the membrane was monitored by means of confocal scanning laser microscopy. As in accordance with the linear dependence of the shear-induced diffusivity on a², only the small particles in the bidisperse suspensions were found to deposit onto the membrane. The back-transport flux that was calculated from the deposition rate and the actual permeate flux, was found to be independent of the composition of the suspension, whereas it was equal to the back-transport flux of a monodisperse suspension of the small particles only, with a similar total particle fraction. These results can be explained with the occurrence of particle size segregation in the feed flow, which leads to an enrichment with small particles of the suspension near the membrane. The findings are also shown to be relevant to particle fractionation processes by MF. In such fractionation processes, particle size segregation is found to have a strong effect on the separation characteristics such as particle size and fat content of the permeate. A polydisperse suspension could be fractionated using a membrane having a pore size larger than the largest particles present. The fractionation thus results not from size exclusion in the membrane, but from segregation effects in the feed channel.