Fundamental Characteristics and Their Influence on Fate and Behavior of Nanomaterials in Environments

• Published in: Nanomaterials in the Environment pp. 1 - 26
• Main Authors: Brar, Satinder Kaur, Tyagi, Rajeshwar D, Das, Ratul Kumar, Sarma, Saurabh Jyoti, Verma, Mausam, Zhang, Tian C, Surampalli, Rao Y
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2015; American Society of Civil Engineers
• Subjects: Environment & Environmental Engineering; Pollution Control & Prevention
• ISBN: 9780784414088; 0784414084
• DOI: 10.1061/9780784414088.ch01

Designed to have very specific properties, engineered nanomaterials (NMs) are tailor made through chemical processes, physical processes, or both, and may be released into the environment primarily through industrial and environmental applications or during improper handling. Because of their nanoscale size, NMs may possess unique chemical, biological, and physical properties as compared with larger particles of the same material, which gives them an edge in diverse applications. This chapter discusses the fundamental properties of NMs and some of the phenomena that determine their fate, transport, and behavior in the environment. For example, processes such as agglomeration can drastically change the surface behavior of NMs. In addition, surface adsorption of different organic or inorganic entities may have substantial influence on the fate of NMs.