Naturally occurring nanoscale materials in soils include clays, organic matter, and iron oxides and each can play an important role in contaminant transport and remediation. Incidental nanomaterials, including metals and plastic released through waste streams and agricultural processes, are emerging terrestrial pollutants of particular concern. In order to understand the behavior of natural and incidental nanomaterials, and to harness the potential to engineer them for contaminant sequestration, it is necessary to fully characterize these materials in terms of their structure and reactivity with various chemical/biological components in the environment. Within single particles, elemental distribution can vary from the interior to the surface, thus surface sensitive techniques must be employed. Here, we illustrate how the use of model materials, as well as field samples, in combination with high-resolution spectroscopic and microscopic capabilities, can be used to interrogate interfacial reactivity of nanomaterials, including with redox-active contaminants and at microbe-nanomaterial interfaces.

Role of nanoscale materials in environmental pollution and remediation

ACS Fall 2021

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