ACS PRF | ACS
All e-Annual Reports
45152-SE
The Structure and Reactivity of Nanoparticles in the Environment, at the ACS National Meeting, September 2006, San Francisco, CA
The Structure and Reactivity of Nanoparticles in the Environment was a symposium held September 13th 2006 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Geochemical Division of the ACS and to highlight a growing area of geochemical research. Nanoscale minerals -- nanoparticles -- are formed in the biosphere by inorganic geochemical processes and microbial activity. Due to their reactivity, large surface areas, and transport characteristics, nanoparticles can exert a significant influence upon the availability and transport of aqueous ions. Moreover, the finite particle size has numerous consequences for the intrinsic reactivity of these minerals. The chemical characteristics of nanoparticle surfaces, and the redox potential of electronic states, can be significantly altered relative to bulk minerals. Studies of both synthetic and natural materials are required to establish impact of nanoparticles on biogeochemical processes.
The Petroleum Research Fund award supported a keynote presentation given by Prof. L. E. Brus (Columbia University), and invited presentations from Dr. Thomas Fanhangel (FZ-Karlsruhe, Germany) and Dr. S. Hamad (Faraday Research Lab., Royal institution, UK). The symposium summarized the diverse environments and processes leading to nanoparticle formation and transformation, discussed the properties of important nanoparticle systems, and identified the geochemical processes, such as metal cycling, for which the distinct properties of nanoparticle have a crucial impact. Furthermore, the symposium addressed the use of computational approaches to model the structure and properties of nanoparticles, with an invited presentation by Prof. J. Rustad (U. Davis). Additional support for the symposium was provided by the Geochemistry Division of the ACS and the DOE Basic Energy Science program.
