Influence of humic acid and dihydroxy benzoic acid on the agglomeration, adsorption, sedimentation and dissolution of copper, manganese, aluminum and silica nanoparticles - A tentative exposure scenario

PLoS One. 2018 Feb 8;13(2):e0192553. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192553. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

This work focuses on kinetic aspects of stability, mobility, and dissolution of bare Cu, Al and Mn, and SiO2 NPs in synthetic freshwater (FW) with and without the presence of natural organic matter (NOM). This includes elucidation of particle and surface interactions, metal dissolution kinetics, and speciation predictions of released metals in solution. Dihydroxy benzoic acid (DHBA) and humic acid adsorbed rapidly on all metal NPs (<1 min) via multiple surface coordinations, followed in general by rapid agglomeration and concomitant sedimentation for a large fraction of the particles. In contrast, NOM did not induce agglomeration of the SiO2 NPs during the test duration (21 days). DHBA in concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mM was unable to stabilize the metal NPs for time periods longer than 6 h, whereas humic acid, at certain concentrations (20 mg/L) was more efficient (>24 h). The presence of NOM increased the amount of released metals into solution, in particular for Al and Cu, whereas the effect for Mn was minor. At least 10% of the particle mass was dissolved within 24 h and remained in solution for the metal NPs in the presence of NOM. Speciation modeling revealed that released Al and Cu predominantly formed complexes with NOM, whereas less complexation was seen for Mn. The results imply that potentially dispersed NPs of Cu, Al and Mn readily dissolve or sediment close to the source in freshwater of low salinity, whereas SiO2 NPs are more stable and therefore more mobile in solution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Aluminum / chemistry
  • Benzoates / chemistry*
  • Copper / chemistry
  • Environmental Exposure*
  • Fresh Water
  • Humic Substances*
  • Manganese / chemistry
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Particle Size
  • Silicon Dioxide / chemistry
  • Solubility
  • Thermodynamics

Substances

  • Benzoates
  • Humic Substances
  • Manganese
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Copper
  • Aluminum

Grants and funding

This work has been performed within the framework of the Mistra Environment Nanosafety program, a consortium between Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg University, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Lund University and AkzoNobel AB, funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA) to IOW. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.