Stability and Interactions of Engineered Nanoparticles (ENP) in Aqueous Matrices (SIENA)

纳米技术已经成为获得新型材料最有前途的方法之一。由此得到的纳米产品的性能令人信服，这目前正导致纳米材料在工业和日常生活(如催化、食品工业、表面处理、个人护理和医疗应用)中的应用大幅增加。因此，工程纳米颗粒(ENP)将不可避免地进入环境系统。然而，人们对ENP在水体系中的行为知之甚少，它们的命运和对生态的影响也是未知的。一方面，适用性的力量及其好处与应用后可能产生的不良生态影响之间的冲突是显而易见的。为了更深入地了解ENP在水生系统中的环境行为，特别重要的是确定和进一步发展其基本特征的分析方法，并检查它们与环境基质的相互作用。在这方面，至关重要的是要考虑主要的水成分，如钠和钙，以及在水生系统中普遍存在的人为和自然有机物。NOM可以显著改变ENP的性质，涉及其稳定性、与其他水成分的相互作用以及它们的传输行为。特别是在净水过程和人类健康保护方面，了解这些相互作用具有很高的相关性。拟议项目的目的是在考虑到典型的环境基质(地表水、地下水和废水)和物理化学条件(pH值、离子强度)的情况下，表征相关的无机ENP、它们的稳定性以及它们与水溶液中(天然)有机物的相互作用。了解ENP在水相中的基本行为将有助于更深入地了解和评估其环境风险，优化其从水体系中分离的技术，并有助于以环境安全的方式生产ENP。

Nanotechnology has become one of the most promising approaches for obtaining new forms of materials. The resulting properties of the nanoproducts are convincing, which is currently leading to a tremendous increase of the application of nanomaterials in industry and in daily life (e. g. catalysis, food industry, surface treatment, personal care, and medical applications). As a consequence, engineered nanoparticles (ENP) will inevitably find their way into environmental systems. However, little is known about the behaviour of ENP in aqueous systems, and their fate and ecological influence are widely unknown. The arising conflict between the power of applicability and its benefits on the one hand and the possible risk of undesirable ecological impact after application on the other hand is obvious. For a deeper understanding of the environmental behaviour of ENP in aquatic systems, it is of particular importance to identify and further develop analytical methods for their basic characterisation and to examine their interactions with environmental matrices. In this context, it is crucial to consider main water constituents such as sodium and calcium as well as anthropogenic and natural organic matter (NOM) which is ubiquitous in aquatic systems. NOM can significantly change the properties of ENP concerning their stability, their interactions with other water constituents and their transport behaviour. Especially with regard to water purification processes and human health protection, knowledge of these interactions is of high relevance. The aims of the proposed project are to characterise relevant inorganic ENP, their stability and their interactions with (natural) organic matter in aqueous solutions, considering typical environmental matrices (surface water, groundwater, and waste water) and physicochemical conditions (pH value, ionic strength). The understanding of the fundamental behaviour of ENP in the aquatic phase will contribute to a deeper understanding and assessment of their environmental risk, to optimise techniques for their separation from aqueous systems and to an environmentally safe production of ENP.