Themed collection Environmental fate of nanomaterials

Nanoplastics (NPs) are chemically reactive following abiotic and biotic weathering processes. These weathered NPs have the potential to facilitate the transformation of legacy contaminants, such as heavy metals.

This study demonstrates that environmental weathering processes differentially affect the aggregation behavior of nanoplastics, providing important insights into the risk assessment of nanoplastics contamination.

Capturing nanoparticle retention in 4D via ex situ μ-CT.

Quartz sand surface-bound root exudates could decrease the transport of MPs in porous media, due to the lower DLVO energy barrier between MPs and quartz sand covered with root exudates.

Our work suggested that micro- and nanoplastics influence the phototransformation and bioaccessibility of fluorinated liquid crystal monomers in aquatic environments.

The environmental behavior and mechanisms of CQDs in 2D homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media were revealed in real time by light transmission visualization.

Nanoparticles like TiO₂ and ZnO can form harmful, stable pollutants called EPFRs. But TiO₂ readily forms even at low temperatures. This finding suggests these pollutants can form in many environments.

This study presents the first evidence of a substantial contribution of soil-borne NPs to biotic silver burden in comparison to aqueous phase NPs observed in the water column.

Size-dependent adsorption of Cu²⁺ ions onto polystyrene nanoparticles in aquatic environments: influence of UV-ageing, temperature and salt ions in the medium.

This study demonstrates that PBDEs attached to soil nanoparticles can be highly mobile in saturated porous media, providing important insights on risk assessment of PBDEs contamination.

Aqueous stability and sorption affinity (towards target environmental contaminants) of engineered nanoparticles, composed of inorganic nanoparticles and surface stabilizers, are dependent on surface grafting density.

This study demonstrates that sub-100 nm nanoplastics have a significantly greater capacity for tributyltin adsorption, raising concerns that small nanoplastics may remobilise existing TBT pollution, rendering it more available to marine organisms.

The stability of a model environmental nanomineral, colloidal hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles, can be strongly affected by environmentally-relevant levels of quaternary ammonium surfactants, a surfactant present in ubiquitous daily-use household products.

NH₃ is oxidized into NO₃⁻ in the heterogeneous reactions on the surface of nano α-Fe₂O₃ and results in iron dissolution.

Three different Co(II) species are identified at the surface of stoichiometric magnetite (Fe(II)/Fe(III) = 0.5) by experiments, modeling, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. This affects the fate of Co, and the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles.

The fate and impact of silver nanowires incorporated in a paper-based nano-enabled product (NEP) was investigated in freshwater mesocosms.

The Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle together with newly formed EPFRs and H₂O₂ can cause microplastic degradation in ice.

The first investigation that describes the adsorption capacity of natural colloids by solid soil media, and studies their interaction mechanism in the molecular-scale.

Simplified conceptualization of various Cd fractions binding on the goethite surface under different pH/sulfate conditions.

Morphological competition between silver nanoparticles evolves under air exposure mainly due to temperature effects and interactions with surface contaminants.

The adsorption and cleavage behavior of DNA molecules by graphene oxide under UV irradiation were investigated in detail. It will provide novel insights into the potential environmental risk of graphene oxide in the aquatic environment.

The heterogeneous reactions of NH₃ on TiO₂ were comprehensively investigated using in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and a flow tube reactor.

This study improves the understanding of ZnO NP transformation and Zn behavior in redox-dynamic slightly alkaline freshwater sediments.

Nano- and microplastics exist in the environment and atmosphere in mixed-phase aqueous systems. The density and size of plastics as well as the density of the liquid phase determines if these plastics will float or diffuse through the liquid.

Al-substitution in Fe oxides increased the sorption of aromatic C, which was dominantly bound to the outer layer of the organo–mineral interfaces as the carboxyl C was preferentially sorbed onto the surfaces of Fe oxides.

The capacity of Fe(OH)₂ to reduce H₂O was limited by the predominant distribution of inert (001) facet and high energy barrier of H₂O dissociation on acitive (100) facet.

The widely present proteins in the natural environment interact with released nanoparticles, which changes the stability, transport, and fate of nanoparticles.

The formation of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) is highly correlated with the structure of mineral crystal surfaces.

Magnetite nanoparticles are not chemically stable at pH < 7, which drastically affects their environmental behavior.

The coprecipitation or surface adsorption of dissolved organic matters determined the colloidal stabilities and deposition behaviors of Cr (hydr)oxides.

The ubiquitous presence of submicron-sized black carbon (BC) in the water environment makes it inevitably interact with root surfaces of aquatic plants.

The presence of nanoplastics in the ocean and soil demonstrates their global distribution in the environment.

Enrichment of aluminum(III) in hematite with different crystal faces.

The study reveals that the interaction with cations, colloidal stability and transport behavior of MoS₂ rely on its phase compositions and geometric structures.

Oxalate promoted iron dissolution of hematite via proton coupled electron transfer.

This study provides nanoscale and molecular-scale evidence that the formation, stability, and transport of NOM–Cr(III) colloids depend on the C/Cr ratio and NOM source.

Lepidocrocite, as a ubiquitous iron mineral, is widely detected in different morphologies in natural environments, controlling the mobility and availability of heavy metal ions (HMIs).