Aggregation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles: role of calcium and phosphate
Rute F. Domingos A B C , Caroline Peyrot A and Kevin J. Wilkinson AA Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
B Present address: Centro de Química Estrutural, Grupo VI, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais #1, PT-1040-001 Lisbon, Portugal.
C Corresponding author. Email: rute.domingos@ist.utl.pt
Environmental Chemistry 7(1) 61-66 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN09110
Submitted: 28 August 2009 Accepted: 22 December 2009 Published: 22 February 2010
Environmental context. The increasing use of nanomaterials in consumer products has led to increased concerns about their potential environmental and health impacts. TiO2 is a widely used nanoparticle found in sunscreens and electronic products. In order to understand and predict the mobility of TiO2 in the natural environment, it is essential to determine its state of aggregation under environmentally relevant conditions of pH, ionic strength, ion and natural organic matter content. Aggregation is likely to lead to both reduced mobility and bioavailability in soils and natural waters.
Abstract. The physicochemical characterisation of nanomaterials is crucial to predict their environmental and health impacts. Ion adsorption is known to influence the surface properties of nano-metal oxides in natural systems. The role of calcium and phosphate adsorption on aggregation was examined in the presence and absence of natural organic matter. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) was performed in order to determine the diffusion coefficients of TiO2 nanoparticles having a nominal size between 3 to 5 nm. Based upon FCS and electrophoretic mobility measurements, the presence of calcium resulted in a destabilisation and aggregation of the TiO2 nanoparticles, even in presence of Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA). Conditions which favoured phosphate adsorption also resulted in a destabilisation of the TiO2 sample but for low SRFA concentrations only.
Additional keywords: cation valence, fulvic acid.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this work was provided by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (Postdoctoral fellowship to RFD, SFRH/BPD/37731/2007), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT).
Some information on the theory behind FCS is available in the accessory publication.
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Accessory publication
