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Hydrophobic Interactions Drive the Attachment of a Model Nanoplastic on Porous Media Surfaces
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When nanoplastics enter soil or groundwater, whether they stick to surfaces or keep moving depends on subtle surface chemistry — particularly how hydrophobic (water-repelling) both the particle and the surrounding material are. Using model nanoplastic particles in a miniature glass pore network, this study demonstrated that hydrophobic attraction can overpower the electrical repulsion that would otherwise keep nanoparticles suspended, causing irreversible attachment to surfaces. This insight is important for predicting how nanoplastics spread through underground water systems and whether they are likely to reach drinking water sources.
Abstract Predicting the transport and fate of nanoparticles in the subsurface requires understanding of their interactions with collector surfaces. We report here on the effect of the less‐studied hydrophobic interactions, which are relevant to the fate of hydrophobic nano‐colloids. Using a model nanoplastic (charge‐stabilized, ethyl cellulose nanoparticles) and a model porous medium (regular array of collectors in a pore network etched on glass) we demonstrate the dominance of hydrophobic attraction over electrostatic repulsion when an otherwise hydrophilic glass surface is rendered hydrophobic via coating with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS). An empirical model of hydrophobic interactions between dissimilar surfaces (Yoon et al., 1997, https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.1996.4583 ), informed by contact angle measurements, explains the irreversible attachment of ethyl cellulose nanoparticles on OTS‐coated glass surfaces confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Transport of ethyl cellulose nanoparticles in OTS‐coated glass micromodels is characterized by favorable irreversible attachment. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms affecting the transport and fate of nano‐colloids in subsurface aquatic environments and lend further support to the conclusion that contact angle can serve to quantify the magnitude of hydrophobic interactions between nanoparticles and collector surfaces.
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Researchers used a model nanoplastic (charge-stabilized ethyl cellulose nanoparticles) in a glass pore network to demonstrate that hydrophobic interactions dominate nanoplastic attachment at solid-water and air-water interfaces in groundwater, establishing that hydrophobicity is a critical driver of nanoplastic fate and transport in the subsurface.
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Researchers investigated how hydrophobic interactions influence the transport and retention of model nanoplastic particles (hydrophobic ethyl cellulose nanoparticles) in 2D and 3D porous media, using extended DLVO calculations to show that hydrophobic attraction can drive irreversible attachment to hydrophobic surfaces and air-water interfaces even under electrostatic repulsion conditions unfavorable to attachment.
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