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The heteroaggregation and deposition behavior of nanoplastics on Al2O3 in aquatic environments
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Researchers systematically investigated heteroaggregation between polystyrene nanoplastics and aluminum oxide particles in aquatic environments, finding significant aggregation under acidic and neutral conditions that increased with ionic strength. Humic acid and fulvic acid inhibited deposition of nanoplastics onto aluminum oxide surfaces through charge reversal and steric repulsion, with humic acid being more effective.
The ubiquitous AlO is anticipated to interact with nanoplastics, affecting their fate and transport in aquatic environments. In this study, the heteroaggregation and deposition behaviors of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) on AlO were systematically investigated under different conditions (ionic strength, pH, and natural organic matter). The results showed that significant heteroaggregation occurred between PSNPs and AlO particles under acidic and neutral conditions. When the NaCl concentration was increased from 50 to 500 mM, the heteroaggregation ratio gradually increased. However, poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) inhibited the heteroaggregation of PSNPs-AlO due to steric repulsion. The deposition of PSNPs on AlO surfaces was inhibited as the NaCl concentration or pH values increased. Due to charge reversal and steric repulsion, humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) prevented the deposition of PSNPs onto AlO surfaces, and the former was more effective in reducing the deposition rate. The interaction mechanism between PSNPs and AlO was revealed by using various characterization techniques and density function theory (DFT) calculation. The results demonstrated that in addition to the dominant electrostatic interaction, there were also weak hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. Our research is of great significance for predicting the migration and fate of PSNPs in aquatic environments.
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Researchers found that the crystallinity of iron (hydro)oxide minerals strongly governs their tendency to aggregate with polystyrene nanoplastics in water — higher crystallinity produces more positive surface charges, stronger electrostatic attraction, and greater hydrogen bonding with nanoplastics, ultimately controlling how and where these combined particles settle in aquatic environments.
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