This study investigated the cotransport of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nTiO(2)) and fullerene nanoparticles (nC(60)), two of the most widely utilized nanoparticles, in saturated quartz sand under a series of ionic strengths in NaCl solutions (0.1-10 mM) at both pH 5 and 7. Under all examined ionic strengths at pH 5, both breakthrough h curves and retained profiles of nTiO(2) in the copresence of nC(60) were similar to those without nC(60), indicating that nC(60) nanoparticles copresent in suspensions did not significantly affect the transport and retention of nTiO(2) in quartz sand at pH 5. In contrast, under all examined ionic strengths at pH 7, the breakthrough curves of nTiO(2) in the copresence of nC(60) in suspensions were higher and the retained profiles were lower than those without nC(60), which demonstrated that the presence of nC(60) in suspensions increased the rate of transport (decreased retention) of nTiO(2) in quartz sand at pH 7 Competition of deposition sites on quartz sand surfaces by the copresence of nC(60) was found to contribute to the increased nTiO(2) transport at pH 7. Under all examined ionic strength conditions at both pH 5 and 7, the breakthrough curves of nC(60) were reduced in the copresence of nTiO(2), and the corresponding retained profiles were higher than those without nTiO(2), indicating that the presence of nTiO(2) decreased the transport of nC(60) in quartz sand. Co-deposition of nC(60) with nTiO(2) in the form of nTiO(2)-nC(60) clusters as well as the deposition of nC(60) onto previously deposited nTiO(2) were responsible for the increased nC(60) deposition in the presence of nTiO(2) at pH 5, whereas deposition of nC(60) onto surfaces of predeposited nTiO(2) was found to be responsible for the increased nC(60) deposition at pH 7.

Ag2O/TNBs were fabricated by depositing Ag2O nanoparticles on the surface of TiO2 nanobelts (TNBs). The disinfection activities of Ag2O/TNBs on two representative bacterial types: Gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC15597 and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, were examined under both dark and visible light conditions. Ag2O/TNBs exhibited stronger bactericidal activities than Ag2O nanoparticles and TNBs under both dark and light conditions. For both cell types, disinfection effects of Ag2O/TNBs were greater under light conditions relative to those under dark conditions. The bactericidal mechanisms of Ag2O/TNBs under both dark and light conditions were explored. Ag+ ions released from Ag2O/TNBs did not contribute to the bactericidal activity of Ag2O/TNBs under dark conditions, whereas the released Ag+ ions showed bactericidal activity under visible light irradiation conditions. Active species (H2O2, O-center dot(2)-, and e(-)) generated by Ag2O/TNBs played important roles in the disinfection processes under both dark and visible light irradiation conditions. Without the presence of active species, the direct contact of Ag2O/TNBs with bacterial cells had no bactericidal effect. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study investigated the influence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the transport and retention behaviors of bacteria (E. coli) in packed porous media at both low and high ionic strength in NaCl and CaCl2 solutions. At low ionic strengths (5 mM NaCl and 0.3 mM CaCl2), both breakthrough curves and retained profiles of bacteria with CNTs (both 5 and 10 mg L-1) were equivalent to those without CNTs, indicating the presence of CNTs did not affect the transport and retention of E. coli at low ionic strengths. The results were supported by those from cell characterization tests (i.e., viability, surface properties, sizes), which showed no significant difference between with and without CNTs. In contrast, breakthrough curves of bacteria with CNTs were lower than those without CNTs at high ionic strengths (25 mM NaCl and 1.2 mM CaCl2), suggesting that the presence of CNTs decreased cell transport at high ionic strengths. The enhanced bacterial deposition in the presence of CNTs was mainly observed at segments near the column inlet, leading to much steeper retained profiles relative to those without CNTs. Additional transport experiments conducted with sand columns predeposited with CNTs revealed that the codeposition of bacteria with CNTs, as well as the deposition of the cell-CNTs cluster formed in cell suspension due to cell bridging effect, largely contributed to the increased deposition of bacteria at high ionic strengths in porous media.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) modified simultaneously with amorphous Fe and Mn oxides (Mag-Fe-Mn) were synthesized to remove arsenite [As(III)] from water. Mag-Fe-Mn particles were fabricated through heterogeneous nucleation technique by employing the maghemite as the magnetic core and Fe Mn binary oxide (FMBO) as the coating materials. Powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to characterize the hybrid material. With a saturation magnetization of 23.2 emu/g, Mag-Fe-Mn particles with size of 20 -50 nm could be easily separated from solutions with a simple magnetic process in short time (within 5 min). At pH 7.0, 200 mu g/L of As(III) could be easily decreased to below 10 mu g/L by Mag-Fe-Mn particles (0.1 g/L) within 20 min. As(III) could be effectively removed by Mag-Fe-Mn particles at initial pH range from 4 to 8 and the residual As was completely oxidized to less toxic arsenate [As(V)]. The co-occurring redox reactions between Mn oxide and As(III) was confirmed by XPS analysis. Chloride, sulfate, bicarbonate, and nitrate at common concentration range had negligible influence on As(III) removal, whereas, silicate and phosphate reduced the As(III) removal by competing with arsenic species for adsorption sites. As(M) removal was not obviously affected by natural organic matter (up to 8 mg/L as TOC). Mag-Fe-Mn could be regenerated with ternary solution of NaOH, NaCl, and NaClO. Throughout five consecutive cycles, the adsorption and desorption efficiencies maintained above 98% and 87%, respectively. Mag-Fe-Mn had a larger adsorption capacity for As(III) (47.76 mg/g) and could remove trace As(III) more thoroughly than MNPs modified solely with either Fe or Mn oxide due to the synergistic effect of the coating Fe and Mn oxides. This research extended the potential applicability of FMBO to a great extent and provided a convenient approach to efficiently remove trace As(III) from water. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.