Pedosphere 23(3): 273--280, 2013
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2013 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Occurrence, structure and mineral phases of nanoparticles in an Anthrosol |
LU Sheng-Gao1,2 , SUN Fang-Fang1,2 and ZONG Yu-Tong1,2 |
1 Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil and Plant Nutrition, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China)
2Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Soils contain various kinds of crystalline to amorphous solid particles with at least one dimension in the nanoscale (<100 nm). These nanoparticles contribute greatly to dynamic soil processes such as soil genesis, trace element cycling, contaminant transport, and chemical reaction. The nano-sized fraction of an Anthrosol was obtained to determine the occurrence, chemical composition, structure, and mineral phases of nanoparticles using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Selected area electron diffraction or the fast Fourier transform of high-resolution images was used in structural characterization of the nanoparticles with HRTEM. Two nanoscale mineral types, i.e., mineral nanoparticles and nanominerals, were observed in the Anthrosol. Mineral nanoparticles in soil included well crystalline aluminumsilicate nanosheets, nanorods, and nanoparticles. Nanosheets with a length of 120--150 nm and a width of about 10--20 nm were identified as chlorite/vermiculite series. The presence of clear lattice fringe spacing in HRTEM image of nanoparticles indicated that mineral nanoparticles had a relatively good crystallinity. The nanomineral ferrihydrite also existed in the Anthrosol. The HRTEM images and the particle size distribution histogram suggested that these ferrihydrite nanoparticles were quite homogeneous, and had a narrow size distribution range (1--7 nm) with a mean diameter of 3.6 ± 1.6 nm. Our HRTEM observation indicated mineral nanoparticles and nanominerals were common and widely distributed in Anthrosols. HRTEM and selected area diffraction or lattice fringe spacing characterization provided further proofs to the structure of nanoparticles formed in soil. |
| Key Words: energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), ferrihydrite, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), nanominerals, nano-sized fraction |
| Citation: Lu, S. G., Sun, F. F. and Zong, Y. T. 2013. Occurrence, structure and mineral phases of nanoparticles in an Anthrosol. Pedosphere. 23(3): 273-280. |
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