Silica nanoparticles capture atmospheric lead: Implications in the treatment of environmental heavy metal pollution

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2013-01, Vol.90 (2), p.653-656
• Main Authors: Yang, Xifei, Shen, Zhiguo, Zhang, Bing, Yang, Jianping, Hong, Wen-Xu, Zhuang, Zhixiong, Liu, Jianjun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adsorbents; Adsorption; air; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollutants - chemistry; air pollution; Air Pollution - prevention & control; Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; batteries; China; Environmental pollution; Exact sciences and technology; heavy metals; lead; Lead - analysis; Lead - chemistry; mass spectrometry; nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; particle size; Pollutants physicochemistry study: properties, effects, reactions, transport and distribution; Pollution; silica; Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs); Silicon Dioxide - chemistry; surface area; transmission electron microscopy; zeta potential
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.09.033

► Silica nanoparticles were exposed to lead polluted on-sites, making the work significant. ► This is the first study demonstrating silica nanoparticles can absorb atmospheric Pb. ► Silica nanoparticles have potential to serve as a significant lead adsorbent. Lead (Pb) contamination in the air is a severe global problem, most notably in China. Removal of Pb from polluted air remains a significant challenge. It is unclear what potential effects silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) exposure can have on atmospheric Pb. Here we first characterized the features of SiNPs by measuring the particle size, zeta potential and the specific surface area of SiO2 particles using a Nicomp 380/ZLS submicron particle sizer, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). We measured the content of the metal Pb adsorbed by SiNPs exposed to two Pb polluted electric battery plants using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It is found that SiNPs exposed to two Pb polluted electric battery plants absorb more atmospheric Pb compared to either blank control or micro-sized SiO2 particles in a time-dependent manner. This is the first study demonstrating that SiNPs exposure can absorb atmospheric Pb in the polluted environment. These novel findings indicate that SiNPs have potential to serve as a significant adsorbent of Pb from industrial pollution, implicating a potentially novel application of SiNPs in the treatment of environmental heavy metal pollution.