Effects of metal oxide nanoparticles on soil properties

Tal Ben Moshe, Sammy Frenk, Ishai Dror, Dror Minz, Brian Berkowitz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In recent years the behavior and properties of nanoparticles released to the environment have been studied extensively to better assess the potential consequences of their broad use in commercial products. The fate, transport and mobility of nanoparticles in soil were shown to be strongly dependent on environmental conditions. However, little is known about the possible effects of nanoparticles on soil chemical, physical and biological properties. In this study, two types of metal oxide nanoparticles, CuO and Fe3O4 were mixed into two types of soil and the effects of the nanoparticles on various soil properties were assessed. Metal oxide nanoparticles were shown previously to catalyze the oxidation of organic pollutants in aqueous suspensions, and they were therefore expected to induce changes in the organic material in the soil, especially upon addition of an oxidant. It was found that the nanoparticles did not change the total amount of organic materials in the soil or the total organic carbon in the soil extract; however, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrated changes in humic substances. The nanoparticles also affected the soil bacterial community composition, based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting, but had little impact on the macroscopic properties of the soil.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)640-646
Number of pages7
JournalChemosphere
Volume90
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry

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