Characterization of dissolved organic matter for understanding the adsorption on nanomaterials in aquatic environment: A review

摘要

Nanomaterials (NMs) have received tremendous attention as emerging adsorbents for environmental applications. The ever-increasing release into aquatic systems and the potential use in water treatment processes heighten the likelihood of the interactions of NMs with aquatic dissolved organicmatter (DOM). Once DOMis adsorbed on NMs, it substantially modifies the surface properties, thus altering the fate and transport of NMs, as well as their toxic effects on (micro)organisms in natural and engineered systems. The environmental consequences of DOM-NMs interaction have been widely studied in the literature. In contrast, a comprehensive understanding of DOM-NM complexes, particularly regarding the controlling factors, is still lacking, and its significance has been largely overlooked. This gap in the knowledge mainly arises from the complex and heterogeneous structures of the DOM, which prompts the urgent need to further characterize the DOM properties to deepen the understanding associated with the adsorption processes on NMs. This reviewaimsto provide in-depth insights into the complexDOMadsorption behavior ontoNMs, whether they aremetal- or carbon-basedmaterials. First, we summarize the up-to-date analyticalmethods to characterize the DOMto unravel the underlying adsorption mechanisms. Second, the key DOMcharacteristics governing the adsorption processes are discussed. Next, the environmental factors, such as the nature of adsorbents and solution chemistry, affecting the DOM-NM interactions, are identified and discussed. Finally, future studies are recommended to fully understand the chemical traits of DOM upon its adsorption onto NMs. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.