Optimisation of asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation for environmental nanoparticles separation

S. Dubascoux (1) , F. von Der Kammer , Isabelle Le Hécho (1) , Martine Potin-Gautier (1)

1 IPREM - Institut des sciences analytiques et de physico-chimie pour l'environnement et les materiaux

The fractionation of natural nanoparticles by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation (As-Fl-FFF) was optimised by considering the following operating conditions: ionic strength, surfactant concentration and crossflow rate. The method performances such as fractionation recovery and fractionation efficiency were evaluated on a stable solution of colloidal-size natural inorganic particles. The online multi-detection by ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometer (UV) and multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS) provided the monitoring of the sample during the separation and the evaluation of the fractionation efficiency. The lowest ionic strength and surfactant concentrations (i.e. 10-3 mol L-1 NH4NO3 and 3 × 10-4 mol L-1 SDS) allowed to obtain the highest sample recovery and lowest loss of the largest particles. The crossflow rate was investigated in order to avoid significant membrane-sample interaction. The applicability of the fractionation in optimised conditions was evaluated on a natural soil leachate, which was filtrated with different filter cut-offs. Filtration efficiency was stressed by the decrease of the large unfractionated particle influence in the void volume. For the first time, robust operating conditions were proposed to well size-fractionate and characterize soil nanoparticles within a single multi-detection analysis. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mots clés: device; evaluation; field flow fractionation; filter; flow rate; ionic strength; leaching; light scattering; performance; process optimization; separation technique; ultraviolet spectrophotometry; isolation and purification; pollutant; validation study; Environmental Pollutants; Field Flow; Arsenic compounds; Concentration (process); Flow fields; Flow of fluids; Isomers; Nanoparticles; Nanostructures; Separation; Surface active agents; Asymmetrical flow field; Environmental nanoparticles; Optimisation; Surfactant concentrations; Fractionation; nanoparticle; surfactant; asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation; colloid

Domaines: Chimie analytique; Sciences de l'environnement

S. Dubascoux, F. von Der Kammer, Isabelle Le Hécho, Martine Potin-Gautier. Optimisation of asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation for environmental nanoparticles separation. Journal of Chromatography A, 2008, 1206 (2), pp.160-165. ⟨10.1016/j.chroma.2008.07.032⟩. ⟨hal-01505730⟩