In this project funded by the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program, Professor E. Silvana Andreescu of Clarkson University is studying the chemical processes that occur at the surface of individual nanoparticles upon exposure to environmental contaminants. To meet this challenge, a new method based on measurements of the collision events of nanoparticles with a microelectrode is developed. The integrated characterizational approach can be used to assess nanoparticle stability and predict their change as a result of exposure to the environment. These studies provide new data for understanding the relationship between nanoparticle properties and their behavior under environmental conditions. Since nanoparticles are used in many consumer products (such as soaps and make-up), increasing our knowledge of their changes in the environmental has significant economic and societal implications. This research provides training for graduate and undergraduate students, especially women and minorities, who have demonstrated significant promise for career development and leadership. The project also provides undergraduate research experience to underrepresented minority students from three 4-year public colleges that usually do not have access to research to broaden their education.
The project focuses on the development of a new electrochemical collision method for the investigation of the surface properties, size-dependent effects and redox reactivity of model metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. Changes in oxidation state, surface adsorption / desorption and reaction kinetics are evaluated using collision electrochemistry and the results are correlated with a suite of spectroscopic and surface characterization methods. These experiments determines how environmental constituents and solution chemistry affect the surface properties and reactivity of individual nanoparticles, and establish the mechanism of these interactions. The development of a new methodology for studying nanoparticles by collision electrochemistry has potential for broad application as a complementary and inexpensive tool for particle characterization and environmental screening purposes. These studies provide new data for understanding the relationship between nanoparticle characteristics and their behavior under environmental conditions.
