Abstract
BackgroundKnowledge about silver nanoparticles in soils is limited even if soils are a critical pathway for their environmental fate. In this paper, speciation results have been acquired using a silver ion selective electrode in three different soils.ResultsSoil organic matter and pH were the most important soil properties controlling the occurrence of silver ions in soils. In acidic soils, more free silver ions are available while in the presence of organic matter, ions were tightly bound in complexes. The evolution of the chemical speciation of the silver nanoparticles in soils was followed over six months.ConclusionDuring the first few hours, there appeared to be a strong sorption of the silver with soil ligands, whereas over time, silver ions were released, the final concentration being approximately 10 times higher than at the beginning. Ag release was associated with either the oxidation of the nanoparticles or a dissociation of adsorbed silver from the soil surfaces.
Highlights
The field of nanotechnology has expanded rapidly in the last few years
In a 50-mL centrifuge tube, 20 mL of either a solution of silver nanoparticles (Vive Nano, Vive Crop Protection) or silver nitrate were added to 10 g of the soils to obtain final nominal concentrations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 mg Ag kg-1 dry soil
The response of the ion selective electrode to free Ag+ has been surprisingly stable over 22 calibrations curves spawning 4 months of use
Summary
The field of nanotechnology has expanded rapidly in the last few years. As of March 2011, there were 1317 products or product lines containing nanomaterials [1]. Nanosilver (nAg) is one of the nanomaterials found in the largest number of products [2] including consumer goods such as textiles, soaps and medical products [3,4]. The main sources of nAg are expected to be from industrial wastes and consumer products. They are thought to enter the environment through sewage treatment plants, waste incineration plants and landfill [5,6,7]. Land application of sewage sludge as well as soil and water contamination from landfills are believed to be the most important contamination pathways for nAg. most literature studies have examined the fate of nAg in water [8,9,10]. Speciation results have been acquired using a silver ion selective electrode in three different soils
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