Open AccessEffect of ZnO nanosizing on its solubility in aqueous media
Author(s) -
Leitner Jindřich,
Sedmidubský David,
Jankovský Ondřej
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
micro and nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1750-0443
DOI - 10.1049/mnl.2018.5158
Subject(s) - solubility , gibbs free energy , nanomaterials , aqueous solution , zinc , materials science , surface energy , nanoparticle , drop (telecommunication) , surface area to volume ratio , chemical engineering , chemical stability , contact angle , thermodynamics , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , composite material , telecommunications , physics , computer science , engineering
Zinc pollution represents a great environmental risk, particularly with regards to the aquatic environment. In this theoretical contribution, the enhanced solubility of ZnO nanoparticles in pure water is predicted based on a simple thermodynamic model. The study used Zn 2+ , Zn(OH) + , Zn(OH) 2 , Zn(OH) 3 − and Zn(OH) 4 2− as dominant species in aqueous solution and a Gibbs energy minimisation method to calculate equilibrium Zn content in this solution. ZnO was investigated in the form of nanoparticles of various shapes, whose very high surface‐to‐volume ratio implicates their lower thermodynamic stability compared with bulk material. The interfacial energy of the solid ZnO – dilute aqueous solution interface was assessed by applying the average ZnO surface energy and contact angle of a sessile drop of water on ZnO( 000 1 ¯ )‐O surface. At 298 K, the ratio of 2 nm spherical ZnO particles to the bulk material solubility was about 23.7. The calculated results were compared with experimental data and yielded a good agreement. These results are not only of great importance for nanomaterials research but they also have implications for environmental protection.