Recently, IIT Madras and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Studies, Bengaluru broke  minerals down into nanoparticles from microdroplets of water. 

Experiment on Mineral Breakdown

• Experiment Setup: IIT Madras tested the hypothesis on crystals of quartz (silica), ruby, and fused alumina.
• Method: Applied a few thousand volts to mineral microparticles in water, creating a mist of microdroplets that resulted in the mineral breaking down into nanoparticles within Different Sizes of Water Drops.
• Different Sizes of Water Drops
  • Variety in Sizes: Water drops can be as large as raindrops or as small as aerosol particles.
  • Microdroplets: Invisible to the naked eye, these are a thousandth the size of a typical raindrop.

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About Mineral Nanoparticles

• Size: Nanoparticles range in size from 1 to 100 nanometers.
• Properties: Their properties depend on shape, size, surface characteristics, and internal structure.
• Forms: It can exist as aerosols (solids or liquids in air), suspensions (solids in liquids), or emulsions (liquids in liquids).

Formation of Nanoparticles

• Natural Formation: Occurs through processes like erosion and weathering.
• Human Activities: Generated through cooking, manufacturing, transportation, and other industrial and domestic activities.
• Manufacturing Approaches:
  • Top-Down: Breaking larger particles into nanostructures.
  • Bottom-Up: Assembling atoms or molecules into nanostructures.

Eccentricity of Water Microdroplets

Eccentricity in the context of water microdroplets refers to the deviation of the shape of these droplets from being perfectly spherical. When water droplets are not perfectly round, they have a measure of eccentricity that quantifies this irregularity.

Surface vs. Bulk Water Reactions

• Surface Water Molecules: Molecules at the surface of water can participate in chemical reactions more easily than those in bulk water, but still need some energy to do so.
• Microdroplets: Water molecules in microdroplets are packed closely together and are more eager to participate in chemical reactions without needing additional energy.
• Chemical Reactions in Microdroplets
  • Faster Reactions: Microdroplets can engage in chemical reactions up to a million times faster than bulk water.
  • Charge Carriers: Microdroplets are effective carriers of electric charge.
  • Beach Example: At the beach, microdroplets from the spray can carry salt ions and settle on your skin.

Formation of Charged Microdroplets

• Evaporation Effect: When larger droplets evaporate and shrink, remaining water molecules form weak hydrogen bonds. This can result in the creation of negatively charged hydroxyl ions (OH-) and free protons (H+).
• Bulk Water: In bulk water, protons can’t move much due to surrounding molecules.
• Microdroplets: In microdroplets, protons easily reach the surface, making it more acidic and conducive to chemical reactions.

Possible Causes of Mineral Breakdown

• Proton Infiltration: Free protons could have squeezed into crystal layers, breaking them from within.
• Electric Fields: Charged surfaces might have provided the necessary energy.
• Surface Tension: A balance between attractive surface tension and repulsive like charges could have caused shockwaves that broke the microdroplets.

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Implications and Future Research

Creating nanoparticles from microparticles is related to significant issues like the origin of life, agriculture, water, and food.

• Proto-Cells: Findings could be relevant to the study of proto-cells, which are believed to be precursors to modern cells.
• Agriculture: Nanoparticles formed from microparticles could enhance soil productivity and benefit agriculture, particularly in desertified areas.
  • Silica Absorption: Silica, which makes up half of sand, is absorbed by plants as nanoparticles, helping them grow taller. Rice crops typically have high silica levels.
• Atmospheric Processes: Potential for microdroplet showers to react with minerals and form nanoparticles, impacting atmospheric chemistry.