Environmental Science & Technology, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Апрель 28, 2025

Nanomaterials (NMs)─whether natural, incidental, or engineered─are now documented to occur in aquatic environments, with concentrations of elements such as titanium, cerium, and palladium exceeding tens parts per billion. While prior research has emphasized the toxicology engineered NMs, their broader geochemical roles remain underexplored. Catalytically active NMs can influence key environmental processes, nutrient cycling pollutant degradation, through photocatalytic, hydrolytic, hydrogenation mechanisms. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) (including hydroxyl radicals, singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide) produced via UVA visible light photocatalysis on NM surfaces drive important transformations. Steady-state ROS (0.1-10 fM) are comparable those from excited-state dissolved organic matter (DOM*). hydrolyze facilitate conversion phosphorus bioavailable inorganic forms carbon low-molecular-weight compounds, potentially fueling microbial food webs. However, major gaps regarding diversity, reactivity, persistence. Addressing these requires integrating advanced nanoanalytical tools (e.g., ICP-MS, electron microscopy EELS) functional reactivity assays applied environmentally sourced over ecologically relevant time scales days months. This Perspective highlights dynamic, transient components systems introduced deposition, runoff, biogenic activity, implications for global biogeochemical cycling.

Язык: Английский