Popis: |
In this work, the size and charge of humic and fulvic standards purchased from the International Humic Substances Society are presented and discussed. The secondary structure of humic substances in water environment as well as the size and shape of the dissolved humic species and their changes are ill-defined, very dynamic and can be strongly affected by environmental conditions as the concentration, pH, and ionic strength. They have a strong propensity to aggregate which control their interactions with other components, mobility, and functioning in the environment. Particle size distributions were determined by means of dynamic light scattering, zeta potential by Doppler electrophoresis. The intensity, volume, and number particle size distribution were obtained. Two or three different size fractions were detected in the studied systems. Large macroparticles (>1 μm) were observed in the majority of them, mainly in the case of more concentrated solutions. Medium fractions of fulvic submicroparticles had higher average diameters (500–1,200 nm) than those in humic acids (300–600 nm). Small nanoparticles ( |