Leaching, Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Nano-ZnO Incorporated into Photocatalytic Concrete for Pavement Applications Toward Daphnia magna
- 1Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Rua Engenheiro Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, Trindade, Florianópolis 88040-900, SC, Brazil
- 2Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Rua Engenheiro Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, Trindade, Florianópolis 88040-900, SC, Brazil
Abstract
Urban air pollution has driven the use of photocatalytic concrete for pavement applications, in which nano-ZnO has emerged as an alternative to nano-TiO2. However, its higher solubility raises concerns regarding the release of Zn2+ into the aquatic environment. In this context, this study evaluated whether the incorporation of nano-ZnO, at a proportion of 9% relative to the mass of Portland cement, increases the toxicity of pavement concrete leachates toward D. magna, compared to conventional concrete. The nano-ZnO powder was physicochemically characterized (XRD, EDXRF, TEM, FTIR, TG/DTG, and colloidal behavior), and the leachates from the conventional and 9% nano-ZnO concretes, obtained by an accelerated TCLP-based leaching of crushed concrete, were characterized by ICP-MS and FTIR. Acute (48 h) and chronic (21 days) toxicity were evaluated for the nano-ZnO powder, for the reference leachate (conventional concrete; data from our previous study), and for the leachate from the nano-modified concrete. ICP-MS indicated that at most ~0.07–0.08% of the total incorporated zinc was leached, and no Zn–O band was detected by FTIR in the freeze-dried leachates, which is consistent with, although it does not prove, the retention of ZnO in the cementitious matrix. In the acute assay, the EC50, 48 h of the nano-modified leachate (10.5% v/v of the concentrated extract) did not differ significantly from that of the reference leachate (10.4% v/v; EC50 ratio 1.01, 95% CI 0.87–1.17) and was not attributable to dissolved zinc alone. In a 21-day assay based on OECD TG 211, the nano-modified leachate caused no adverse effect on longevity, size, reproduction, or age at first brood up to the highest concentration tested, whereas the reference leachate caused a slight reduction in size. Overall, nano-ZnO incorporation did not produce additional toxicity toward D. magna under the tested conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{facin2026leaching,
title = {{Leaching, Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Nano-ZnO Incorporated into Photocatalytic Concrete for Pavement Applications Toward Daphnia magna}},
author = {Fernanda Facin and João Victor Staub de Melo and William Gerson Matias},
journal = {Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nano16191265},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666886},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Leaching, Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Nano-ZnO Incorporated into Photocatalytic Concrete for Pavement Applications Toward Daphnia magna
AU - Fernanda Facin
AU - João Victor Staub de Melo
AU - William Gerson Matias
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/nano16191265
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666886
AB - Urban air pollution has driven the use of photocatalytic concrete for pavement applications, in which nano-ZnO has emerged as an alternative to nano-TiO2. However, its higher solubility raises concerns regarding the release of Zn2+ into the aquatic environment. In this context, this study evaluated whether the incorporation of nano-ZnO, at a proportion of 9% relative to the mass of Portland cement, increases the toxicity of pavement concrete leachates toward D. magna, compared to conventional concrete. The nano-ZnO powder was physicochemically characterized (XRD, EDXRF, TEM, FTIR, TG/DTG, and colloidal behavior), and the leachates from the conventional and 9% nano-ZnO concretes, obtained by an accelerated TCLP-based leaching of crushed concrete, were characterized by ICP-MS and FTIR. Acute (48 h) and chronic (21 days) toxicity were evaluated for the nano-ZnO powder, for the reference leachate (conventional concrete; data from our previous study), and for the leachate from the nano-modified concrete. ICP-MS indicated that at most ~0.07–0.08% of the total incorporated zinc was leached, and no Zn–O band was detected by FTIR in the freeze-dried leachates, which is consistent with, although it does not prove, the retention of ZnO in the cementitious matrix. In the acute assay, the EC50, 48 h of the nano-modified leachate (10.5% v/v of the concentrated extract) did not differ significantly from that of the reference leachate (10.4% v/v; EC50 ratio 1.01, 95% CI 0.87–1.17) and was not attributable to dissolved zinc alone. In a 21-day assay based on OECD TG 211, the nano-modified leachate caused no adverse effect on longevity, size, reproduction, or age at first brood up to the highest concentration tested, whereas the reference leachate caused a slight reduction in size. Overall, nano-ZnO incorporation did not produce additional toxicity toward D. magna under the tested conditions.
SN - 2079-4991
ER -