Study of the Effects of SiO_2 Nanoparticles Concentration on the TiO_2 Nanoparticles Suspensions Stabilization

摘要

TiO_2 nanoparticles (NPTiO_2) suspensions are in several ecosystems and residue treatment processes or disposal systems due to their large industrial use and handling. The interactions of the NPTiO_2 with NPSiO_2 have special interest due to their strong ability to maintain high TiO_2 nanoparticles concentration in suspension and promote nanoparticles clustering. These characteristics are used either in cleaning systems or in production of nanoparticles solution for several applications in the food industry or medicine. In this study, suspensions of NPTiO_2 and NPSiO_2 are synthetized and their stabilizations are discussed. A base TiO_2 nanoparticles suspension was synthetized and the initial concentrations of SiO_2 nanoparticles (NPSiO_2) were changed in order to determine the effects of presence of SiO_2 nanoparticles on the stabilization and clustering size. Zeta potential and concentrations measurements were carried out throughout the time and correlated with the initial concentrations of the base suspensions. In this study, the concentrations, zeta potential and pH are measured to estimate the stability of the suspensions. The clustering size, obtained by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), are also monitored and discussed. Results of column soil experiments are discussed and compared under similar conditions with literature data.