Influence of Material Properties on TiO2 Nanoparticle Agglomeration
- University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
- University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Laboratory (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Emerging nanomaterials are being manufactured with varying particle sizes, morphologies, and crystal structures in the pursuit of achieving outstanding functional properties. These variations in these key material properties of nanoparticles may affect their environmental fate and transport. To date, few studies have investigated this important aspect of nanoparticles’ environmental behavior. In this study, the aggregation kinetics of ten different TiO2 nanoparticles (5 anatase and 5 rutile each with varying size) was systematically evaluated. Our results show that, as particle size increases, the surface charge of both anatase and rutile TiO2 nanoparticles shifts toward a more negative value, and, accordingly, the point of zero charge shifts toward a lower value. The colloidal stability of anatase sphere samples agreed well with DLVO theoretical predictions, where an increase in particle size led to a higher energy barrier and therefore greater critical coagulation concentration. In contrast, the critical coagulation concentration of rutile rod samples correlated positively with the specific surface area, i.e., samples with higher specific surface area exhibited higher stability. Finally, due to the large innate negative surface charge of all the TiO2 samples at the pH value (pH = 8) tested, the addition of natural organic matter was observed to have minimal effect on TiO2 aggregation kinetics, except for the smallest rutile rods that showed decreased stability in the presence of natural organic matter.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF); US Environmental Protection Agency; US Public Health Service Grants; USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0003525; U19 ES019528
- OSTI ID:
- 1627664
- Journal Information:
- PLoS ONE, Vol. 8, Issue 11; ISSN 1932-6203
- Publisher:
- Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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