Core chemistry influences the toxicity of multicomponent metal oxide nanomaterials, lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, and lithium cobalt oxide to Daphnia magna

Abstract

Lithium intercalation compounds such as lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) are used extensively in lithium batteries. Because there is currently little economic incentive for recycling, chances are greater that batteries will end up in landfills or waste in the environment. In addition, the toxicity of these battery materials traditionally has not been part of the design process. Therefore, to determine the environmental impact and the possibility of alternative battery materials, representative complex battery nanomaterials, LCO and NMC, were synthesized, and toxicity was assessed in Daphnia magna. Toxicity was determined by assessing LCO and NMC at concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 25 mg/L. Acute studies (48 h) showed no effect to daphnid survival at 25 mg/L, whereas chronic studies (21 d) show significant impacts to daphnid reproduction and survival at concentrations of 0.25 mg/L for LCO and 1.0 mg/L for NMC. Dissolved metal exposures showed no effect at the amounts measured in suspension, and supernatant controls could not reproduce the effects of the particles, indicating a nanomaterial-specific impact. Genes explored in the present study were actin, glutathione-s-transferase, catalase, 18s, metallothionein, heat shock protein, and vitellogenin. Down-regulation of genes important in metal detoxification, metabolism, and cell maintenance was observed in a dose-dependent manner. The results show that battery material chemical composition can be altered to minimize environmental impacts. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2493-2502. © 2017 SETAC.

The Known and Unknown about the Environmental Safety of Nanomaterials in Commerce

“…[27] For example, the toxicity and biochemical pathways instigated by the nano-form of metal oxides cannot be completely described by the individual or collective ionic metal components. [28,29] The chemical characteristics of the surface of the nanomaterial have also been shown to play an important role in the interaction with organisms and toxicity. The external charge of the particle as well as the type of surface modification are important.…”

“…[22,30,33,34] Research has demonstrated that the toxicity may be due to a particular surface group used to create the charge on the particle rather than due to the combination of the surface group attached to the and nanoparticle. [29,33,34] Therefore, it is important to evaluate the surface modification placed on a particular particle separately from the nanoparticles form that includes that surface modification. Negatively charged particles in contrast are largely not toxic or toxic at mg L −1 concentrations which is most likely beyond the exposure level for many organisms.…”

“…[71] However, as has been found with the simple metal oxide materials, the collective ions released from these materials do not always explain the toxicity of these compounds when they come in contact with cells or organisms indicating a nanomaterial specific effect. [29] Other next-generation materials where estimates of use or disposal are lacking include 2D nanomaterials and soft nanomaterials for sensing, electronics and water purification where the nanomaterial form has unique properties. [72] In this class, graphene, graphene oxide, black phosphorus, and dichalcogenides are all promising materials but have been shown to pierce cells, change algal growth, and increase ROS in cells.…”

Deciphering the Anode-Enhanced Azo Dye Degradation in Anaerobic Baffled Reactors Integrating With Microbial Fuel Cells

“…The protein-based biomass of the sludge was analyzed by a Bradford-protein quantification kit (PA102, TIANGEN). DHA activity was tested by evaluating the 2, 3, 5 - triphenyl tetrazoliumchloride (TTC) reducing capacity of the sludge samples at a wavelength of 485 nm by a UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV-2600, SHIMADZU) ( Bozich et al, 2017 ). The microbial metabolism activity in sludge and anode biofilms were analyzed using a confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM, LSM 700) after being stained by LIVE/DEAD BacLight staining kit (Molecular Probes, Invitrogen), as described in our previous report ( Yang et al, 2015 ).…”

DFT and thermodynamics calculations of surface cation release in LiCoO2

“…Such a scheme was recently applied in the case of binary metal oxide materials, 24,25 where high-throughput experimental works were used to inform hazard and O 2 (NMC) 17 will partially dissolve in aqueous media, releasing transition metals such as Co and Ni to solution. The metals released from these CMOs have shown toxicity effects in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 bacteria, 10,16 the eukaryotic water flea Daphnia magna, 26 and have also been shown to potentially impact the lipid ordering in model cell membranes. 27,28 The mechanism for the release of metals from NMC has been studied with experimental and density functional theory (DFT) methods.…”