Issue 9, 2023

Time resolved pore scale monitoring of nanoparticle transport in porous media using synchrotron X-ray μ-CT

Abstract

Recently, we demonstrated the potential of synchrotron X-ray micro computed tomography (μ-CT) to visualise the spatial distribution of nanoparticle aggregates inside porous matrices. This paved the way for increasing our understanding of pore-scale nanoparticle retention processes. Here, we present the first 3D timelapse of nanoparticle retention in a sand packed column at the sub-micrometre scale and demonstrate the wealth of information that can be gained through accessing four dimensions, i.e. time and space. This includes i) visualisation of gradual pore space saturation with nanoparticles, ii) localisation of retention growth domains, iii) quantification of the growth of retained nanoparticle clusters, and iv) quantification of the dynamic re-mobilisation processes of retained nanoparticle clusters. The quantification revealed that the retention was primarily controlled by a ripening process but also showed a surprisingly large NP cluster re-mobilisation during injection (i.e., up to 50% of the retained NP were re-mobilised). Our results demonstrate that in situ monitoring of nanoparticle retention is technically feasible and will reveal novel details, likely even processes, of nanoparticle transport and retention at the pore scale.

Graphical abstract: Time resolved pore scale monitoring of nanoparticle transport in porous media using synchrotron X-ray μ-CT

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
11 apr 2023
Accepted
14 aug 2023
First published
21 aug 2023

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023,10, 2224-2231

Time resolved pore scale monitoring of nanoparticle transport in porous media using synchrotron X-ray μ-CT

A. A. Schiefler, H. O. Sørensen, S. Bruns, D. Müter, K. Uesugi and D. J. Tobler, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023, 10, 2224 DOI: 10.1039/D3EN00227F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements