The risk of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) released from consumer products prompts the need for investigating their fate, transportation, transformation, and toxicity in the environment. Cerium dioxide nanoparticle (CeO2 NP) is one type of widely used ENPs due to its unique oxidative/reductive and catalytic properties. Once the CeO2 NPs are released into the environment, soils are likely to be their primary repository. However, due to the natural complexity of soil, the investigation of cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) in soil has remained a challenge. In this study, this challenge was overcome by applying a novel single particle-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) methodology to detect CeO2 NPs extracted from soil, utilizing tetrasodium pyrophosphate (TSPP) aqueous solution as an extractant. This method is highly sensitive for determining CeO2 NPs in soil, with detection limits of size and concentration of 15 nm and 194 NPs mL−1, respectively. Extraction efficiency was sufficient in the tested TSPP concentration range from 1 mM to 10 mM at a soil-to-extractant ratio 1:100 (g mL−1) for the extraction of CeO2 NPs from the soil spiked with CeO2 NPs. In addition, the aging study demonstrated that CeO2 NPs had no discernible change during aging for a short period (one month) under the experimental condition. Overall, the developed method was capable of extracting and accurately determining CeO2 NPs in soil matrices.

Single particle-ICP-MS method for the characterization and quantification of CeO2 nanoparticles in soil

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.