Transport of Surface-modified Carbon Nanotubes through a Soil Column

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely manufactured nanoparticles, which are being utilized in a number of consumer products, such as sporting goods, electronics and biomedical applications. Due to their accelerating production and use, CNTs constitute a potential environmental risk if they are released to soil and groundwater systems. It is therefore essential to improve the current understanding of environmental fate and transport of CNTs. The transport and retention of CNTs in both natural and artificial media have been reported in literature, but the findings widely vary and are thus not conclusive. There are a number of physical and chemical parameters responsible for variation in retention and transport. In this study, a complete procedure of selected multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is presented starting from their surface modification to a complete set of laboratory column experiments at critical physical and chemical scenarios. Results indicate that the stability of the commercially available MWCNTs are critical with their attached surface functional group which can also influence the transport and retention of MWCNT through the surrounding medium. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

Fate and Transport of Fire-Born Particles in Porous Media

“…The relative concentration was close to 1.0, 0.92, and 0.88 for pH equal to 9.8, 6.5, and 3.0 respectively. An increase in retention of colloids/nanoparticles with a decrease in pH has been observed in several previous studies (such as, [15,16,25]). The Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) interaction forces between FBPs and sand surfaces might change due to a decrease in pH.…”