Collaborative Research: Adsorption and Photochemical Transformations of Arsenic and Selenium Species by Natural Organic Matter-Coated Magnetic Nano-sized Iron Oxide Particles

该奖项由化学部的环境化学科学计划和化学，生物工程，环境和运输系统部门的环境工程计划共同支持。这项合作研究涉及教授凯文E。来自佛罗里达国际大学的O'Shea和Yong Cai以及Dionysios D.辛辛那提大学的狄奥尼修。与他们的学生一起，教师们寻求开发一种环保的方法来净化水。砷、硒等剧毒物质对水体的污染是对环境的严重威胁。 这影响了全球数亿人的健康。该方法是用天然有机物（NOM）包覆磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒。包覆的纳米颗粒可以强烈地结合砷和硒，并且可以在太阳照射下将它们转化为毒性较小的形式。携带砷和硒的磁性纳米颗粒随后用磁铁从污染的水中去除。总体而言，研究活动预计将加强当地社区，教育机构和调查人员之间的合作。这项研究的更广泛的社会影响包括促进可持续发展。从这些研究中获得的知识指导了使用环保材料的新水处理方法的开发。这些见解的应用可能会加快解决环境问题的相关技术的实施，并促进对天然有机物质和金属相互作用的理解，以确定其归宿，运输和生物利用度。 研究计划强调代表性不足群体的人的参与。该项目还包括一个与当地学校合作的高中外展项目，教育学生了解水质和水污染问题。该项目旨在对As和Se物种与分级NOM的分子相互作用以及随后的As和Se的NOM光敏氧化还原转化进行基本了解。 用特定的捕获剂或猝灭剂研究了单个活性氧、电子转移和能量转移过程在NOM光敏化转化中的作用。这些基础研究指导选择最有前途的NOM馏分接枝到不同尺寸的磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒的表面上，用于感兴趣的过程。这项研究有望有助于制定优化有毒金属去除和转化的策略。 这样的过程对于水的再利用和处理至关重要。

This award is supported jointly by the Chemistry Division's Environmental Chemical Sciences Program and the Environmental Engineering Program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems. The collaborative study involves Professors Kevin E. O'Shea and Yong Cai from Florida International University and Professor Dionysios D. Dionysiou from University of Cincinnati. Together with their students, the faculty members seek to develop an environmentally-friendly approach to purifying water. Water contamination by highly toxic arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) is a serious threat to the environment. This has affected the health of hundreds of millions of humans globally. The approach is to coat magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with natural organic matter (NOM). The coated nanoparticles can strongly bind arsenic and selenium and can convert them to less toxic forms upon solar irradiation. The magnetic nanoparticles carrying the arsenic and selenium are later removed from the contaminated water with a magnet. Overall, the research activities are expected to strengthen co-operation among the local community, educational institutes, and investigators. Thebroader societal impacts of this research include enhancing sustainable development. The knowledge obtained from these studies guides the development of new water treatment methodologies using environmentally-friendly materials. Application of these insights may accelerate the implementation of related technologies in addressing environmental problems, as well as advance the understanding of the interaction of natural organic matter and metals to determine their fate, transport and bioavailability. The research plan emphasizes participation of persons from underrepresented groups. It also includes a high school outreach program with local schools to educate the students on water quality and water contamination issues.The project seeks to develop a fundamental understanding of the molecular interactions of As and Se species with fractionated NOM and the subsequent NOM-photosensitized redox transformations of As and Se. Specific trapping or quenching agents are used to study the roles of individual reactive oxygen species, electron transfer and energy transfer processes in the NOM photosensitized transformations. These fundamental studies guide the selection of the most promising NOM fractions for grafting onto the surface of different sized magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for the process of interest. The research is expected to aid in the development of strategies for optimizing removal and conversion of toxic metals. Such a process is is critical to water reuse and treatment.