Simulation of adsorption of gold nanoparticles carried by gas ascending from the Earth’s interior in alluvial cover of the middle–lower reaches of the Yangtze River |
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| Authors: | J J CAO X Y HU Z T JIANG H W LI X Z ZOU |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Earth Sciences, Sun Yat‐sen University, Guangzhou, China;2. Guangdong Laboratory of Nutrient Cycling and Farmland Conservation, Soil and Fertilizer Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China |
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| Abstract: | The adsorption onto other minerals of charged gold nanoparticles, carried by gas ascending from the Earth’s interior, is an important component of their transport and deposition in surficial cover such as alluvial, aeolian, and glacial sediments. To simulate the adsorption of these particles, an experiment was conducted in which a flow of air that contained gold nanoparticles was passed upward through a sample of alluvium from the middle–lower reaches of the Yangtze River. These experiments showed that gold nanoparticles are adsorbed on kaolinite, halloysite, goethite, and hematite in the alluvial cover. Both the gold nanoparticles and minerals (i.e., kaolinite, halloysite, goethite, and hematite) carry surface charges that provide them with excellent adsorption properties. This study showed that the specific mineral composition of surficial alluvial cover affects the concentration of gold nanoparticles in the ascending gas. This phenomenon may plausibly be used in exploration for concealed gold, copper–gold, and silver–gold deposits in areas of thick alluvial cover. Geofluids (2010) 10 , 438–446 |
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| Keywords: | adsorption alluvium gas gold nanoparticles simulation experiment |
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