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Environmental problems - Chemical approaches
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Partitioning and stability of engineered ZnO nanoparticles in soil suspensions using flow field-flow fractionation

Laura J. Gimbert A D , Rebecca E. Hamon B , Phil S. Casey C and Paul J. Worsfold A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, UK.

B CSIRO Land & Water, PMB 2 Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.

C CSIRO Manufacturing and Materials Technology, Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: lgimbert@plymouth.ac.uk

Environmental Chemistry 4(1) 8-10 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN06072
Submitted: 26 November 2006  Accepted: 16 January 2007   Published: 14 February 2007

Environmental context. Nanoparticulate materials are increasingly being used as catalysts and lubricants, for pollution control and drug delivery, and in electronics, fabrics, cosmetics and sunscreens. In spite of this growth, information about the fate and toxicity of nanoparticles in the environment is limited, partly due to the lack of techniques capable of measuring nanoparticles in complex environmental matrices. One emerging tool, flow field-flow fractionation, can be used to determine the presence and particle size distribution of engineered nanoparticles, for example in soil pore waters, thereby enhancing our understanding of their environmental fate and impacts.

Abstract. This paper reports preliminary results for the determination of engineered ZnO nanoparticles using flow field-flow fractionation (FlFFF). This separation technique was used to determine the particle size distributions (PSDs) of ZnO nanoparticles spiked in soil suspensions. Before FlFFF analysis, the soil was prepared in suspension form, shaken overnight and gravitationally settled to extract the <1-µm fraction. The effect of aging was also investigated using soil samples incubated with known concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles for 7 and 14 days. The results show that FlFFF can be used to determine the PSD of engineered nanoparticles and monitor their partitioning and stability in soil suspensions.

Additional keywords: environmental chemistry, field-flow fractionation, nanoparticles, soils.


Acknowledgements

The authors (LJG and PJW) would like to thank Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for a research grant (NE/C514107/1) in support of this work. The authors also thank Jenny Anderson, CSIRO for preparation of the spiked soil samples.


References


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