Role of combinatorial environmental factors in the behavior and fate of ZnO nanoparticles in aqueous systems: A multiparametric analysis

Abstract

To better understand the environmental behavior, fate, and exposure risks of engineered nanoparticles in aquatic systems, for the first time, combinatorial aqueous systems were established using three-level orthogonal array design (OAD), an OA27 (313) matrix, to assess the effects of six co-varying environmental factors (organic acid type, organic acid concentration, NP concentration, pH, salt content, and electrolyte type) on the aggregation of commercial zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs, mean diameter ~41nm). A separate set of OA27 (313) experiments including temperature was conducted for the dissolution of these NPs. The results showed that the organic acid concentration and the pH were the most significant factors (p