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Combined factors influencing the surface charge and aggregation behaviors of TiO2 nanoparticles in the presence of humic acid and UV irradiation

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Abstract

The environmental behavior and ultimate fate of the engineered nanoparticles could inevitably be affected by the widespread dissolved organic matter and sunlight irradiation in the natural environment. In this study, an analysis combined with experimental investigations was used to explore the influence of humic acid (HA) and UV irradiation on the changes in surface charge and aggregation behavior of TiO2 nanoparticles. A prolonged UV irradiation caused the point of zero charge (PZC) of TiO2 nanoparticles shifted to lower values and the aggregate size reached to a maximum value at the PZC. TEM image and FT-IR spectroscopy analysis confirmed the formation of TiO2 cluster aggregates and successive growth of the hydroxyl groups on different sites on TiO2 surface, respectively, although no effect of irradiation on the phase transformation of TiO2 nanoparticles was observed through the use of Raman spectroscopy. The fluorescence spectroscopy analysis illustrated the interactions between the surface hydroxyls formed during UV irradiation on TiO2 surface and functional groups on HA molecules, which accelerated the aggregation process of TiO2 nanoparticles. Widespread HA and UV irradiation in the natural environment significantly altered the surface properties and stability of the nanoparticles in aqueous environments.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully appreciate the technical assistance from Huaiyin Institute of Technology.

Funding

This work is financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Mineral Salt Deep Utilization (grant no. SF201905).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Mineral Salt Deep Utilization, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, 223003, People’s Republic of China

    Liqiang Tan, Chuyun Zhou & Lu Ding

  2. Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, People’s Republic of China

    Zhengjie Liu

Authors
  1. Liqiang Tan
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  2. Zhengjie Liu
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  3. Chuyun Zhou
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  4. Lu Ding
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Contributions

D.L. and C.Z. conceived the study and performed the measurements. L.T. and Z.L. analyzed the results and prepared the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Liqiang Tan.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Capsule abstract

The aggregation behaviors of TiO2 nanoparticles in the presence of humic acid and UV irradiation were studied by batch, DLS, EEM, FT-IR, and Raman measurements, and the complexation between HA and TiO2 nanoparticles strongly influenced the physicochemical behavior of TiO2 nanoparticles in the natural environment.

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Tan, L., Liu, Z., Zhou, C. et al. Combined factors influencing the surface charge and aggregation behaviors of TiO2 nanoparticles in the presence of humic acid and UV irradiation. J Nanopart Res 23, 191 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-021-05315-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-021-05315-0

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