Nanowaste: The Next big threat?

Could nanomaterials damage the environment or human health? Nanocubes from BASF made of metalorganic compounds use their numerous pores and channels to store hydrogen. Two grams of nanocubes have an internal area equal to a soccer field. The cubes measure a few micrometers on a side but have been dubbed nanocubes based on their nanometersized internal spaces. Bucky balls, or C60, behave differently in different mixtures of water and solvents. In vial 1, for example, C60 dissolved in toluene does not partition into water. In the second vial, C60 dissolves in tetrahydrofuran (THF), a solvent. In the third vial, water added to the C60/THF solution creates a yellow suspension of nano-C60 or clumped together C60. In vial number four, THF has been evaporated off, leaving a suspension of nano-C60 in only water. Vial 5 has nano-C60 slowly dissolving into an upper layer of toluene. And in vial 6, the addition of a mild oxidant drives the bucky balls from the water and back into its organic phase. Water droplets bead up on wood treated with BASF's nanomaterials-based Mincor coating. The coating makes the wood extremely water repellent and decreases the contact area between the water and wood. The coating also makes surfaces self-cleaning. An electron microscopy image shows bucky balls clumping together in water and forming nano-C60, a watersoluble form of carbon made up of thousands of bucky balls. The size of the nano-C60 particles depends on water pH and how fast bucky balls are mixed with the water. The particles rely on a negatively charged surface to stay afloat. Adding ions, such as table salt, can render the surface neutral so that the particles will sink and form a solid glob, according to researchers. Researchers at Rice University are studying the life cycle of bucky balls (C60) and how it