Poly(acrylic acid) coating induced 2-line ferrihydrite nanoparticle transport in saturated porous media

Aishuang Xiang, Weile Yan, Bruce E. Koel, Peter R. Jaffe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Iron oxide and iron nanoparticles (NPs) have been used effectively for environmental remediation, but are limited in their applications by strong retention in groundwater-saturated porous media. For example, delivery of NPs to large groundwater reservoirs would require large numbers of injection wells. To address this problem, we have explored polymer coatings as a surface engineering strategy to enhance transport of oxide nanoparticles in porous media. We report here on our studies of 2-line ferrihydrite NPs and the influence of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) polymer coatings on the colloidal stability and transport in natural sand-packed column tests simulating flow in groundwater-saturated porous media. Measurements were also made of zeta potential, hydrodynamic diameter, and polymer adsorption and desorption properties. The coated NPs have a diameter range of 30-500 nm. We found that NP transport was improved by PAA coating and that the transport properties could be tuned by adjusting the polymer concentration. Our results demonstrate that a high stability of oxide particles and improved transport can be achieved in groundwater-saturated porous media by introducing negatively charged polyelectrolytes and optimizing polymer concentrations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1705
JournalJournal of Nanoparticle Research
Volume15
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Bioengineering
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • General Materials Science
  • Modeling and Simulation

Keywords

  • Adsorption
  • Ferrihydrite
  • Groundwater
  • Iron oxide nanoparticles
  • Polymer coating
  • Stability
  • Transport

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