Fate and transport of silver nanoparticles in the environment

Abstract

Anthropogenic and naturally occurring silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), once released or formed in the environment, could transport, distribute, and transform in various environmental environment, which have great impacts on not only their fate but also their uptake and toxicity in the environments. In this chapter, we introduce recent model and experimental studies on the transport and distribution of AgNPs in air, aquatic, and terrestrial systems, and discuss the transformation of AgNPs in the environment including change of coating, aggregation, sedimentation, dissolution and re-reduction, sulfidation and chlorination. These studies highlight that AgNPs are highly dynamic in physical and chemical species in the environment, owning to the distinguished chemical properties of AgNPs from other nanoparticles. Additionally, the knowledge gaps in fate and transport of AgNPs and recommendations for future research are also discussed.