Single Particle Investigation of Environmental Chemical Processes using Nano-Impact Collision Techniques

在这个由环境化学科学计划资助的项目中，E。克拉克森大学的西尔维·安德列斯库正在研究暴露于环境污染物后单个纳米颗粒表面发生的化学过程。为了应对这一挑战，一种新的方法的基础上测量的碰撞事件的纳米粒子与微电极的发展。综合表征方法可用于评估纳米颗粒的稳定性，并预测其暴露于环境后的变化。 这些研究为理解纳米颗粒性质与其在环境条件下的行为之间的关系提供了新的数据。由于纳米颗粒被用于许多消费品（如肥皂和化妆品），增加我们对它们在环境中变化的了解具有重大的经济和社会意义。这项研究为研究生和本科生提供培训，特别是妇女和少数民族，他们在职业发展和领导方面表现出了巨大的希望。该项目还为三所四年制公立大学的少数民族学生提供本科研究经验，这些学生通常无法获得研究以扩大教育。该项目的重点是开发一种新的电化学碰撞方法，用于研究模型金属和金属氧化物纳米颗粒的表面性质，尺寸依赖效应和氧化还原反应性。氧化态，表面吸附/脱附和反应动力学的变化进行评估，使用碰撞电化学和结果与一套光谱和表面表征方法。这些实验确定了环境成分和溶液化学如何影响单个纳米颗粒的表面性质和反应性，并建立了这些相互作用的机制。通过碰撞电化学研究纳米颗粒的新方法的发展具有广泛的应用潜力，作为一种补充和廉价的工具，用于颗粒表征和环境筛选的目的。这些研究为理解纳米颗粒特性与其在环境条件下的行为之间的关系提供了新的数据。

In this project funded by the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program, Professor E. Silvana Andreescu of Clarkson University is studying the chemical processes that occur at the surface of individual nanoparticles upon exposure to environmental contaminants. To meet this challenge, a new method based on measurements of the collision events of nanoparticles with a microelectrode is developed. The integrated characterizational approach can be used to assess nanoparticle stability and predict their change as a result of exposure to the environment. These studies provide new data for understanding the relationship between nanoparticle properties and their behavior under environmental conditions. Since nanoparticles are used in many consumer products (such as soaps and make-up), increasing our knowledge of their changes in the environmental has significant economic and societal implications. This research provides training for graduate and undergraduate students, especially women and minorities, who have demonstrated significant promise for career development and leadership. The project also provides undergraduate research experience to underrepresented minority students from three 4-year public colleges that usually do not have access to research to broaden their education.The project focuses on the development of a new electrochemical collision method for the investigation of the surface properties, size-dependent effects and redox reactivity of model metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. Changes in oxidation state, surface adsorption / desorption and reaction kinetics are evaluated using collision electrochemistry and the results are correlated with a suite of spectroscopic and surface characterization methods. These experiments determines how environmental constituents and solution chemistry affect the surface properties and reactivity of individual nanoparticles, and establish the mechanism of these interactions. The development of a new methodology for studying nanoparticles by collision electrochemistry has potential for broad application as a complementary and inexpensive tool for particle characterization and environmental screening purposes. These studies provide new data for understanding the relationship between nanoparticle characteristics and their behavior under environmental conditions.