Ep 27. The Constant Loop: How Nanoparticles and the Environment Affect Each Other

Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) is an important nanomaterial used in batteries, but little is known about what happens when it gets exposed to the environment. In this episode we interview Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology graduate student Liz Laudadio, who was the first author on a recent paper about what happens to LCO when it gets exposed to phosphates in water. We discuss why phosphates are important and next steps to understanding potential environmental impacts of nanomaterials: “It’s a constant loop of, How do nanoparticles affect the environment? How does the environment affect nanoparticles?”

Left: Liz Laudadio working with an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), which was used in this study to quantify how much phosphate adsorbed to LCO nanoparticles. Center/Right: Transmission Electron Microscope images of LCO nanosheets (from Laudadio et al. 2018, used with permission from the American Chemical Society)

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Related links:

Liz Laudadio
Laudadio, L., Bennett, J., Green, C., Mason, S., & Hamers, R. Impact of Phosphate Adsorption on Complex Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticle Dispersibility in Aqueous Media. Environmental Science & Technology 2018, 52 (17), pp 10186–10195 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b02324
Mason Lab
Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology

Interviewee: Liz Laudadio

Producer/Host: Miriam Krause

Music: PC III and Dexter Britain