This chapter deals with a fundamental question in soil science and environmental hydro-, bio-, and geochemistry: How do the properties and behaviors of the smallest particles—the nanoparticles—differ from those of ions and molecules, and of the larger particles whose properties are understood based on classic physics and chemistry of bulk systems? We shall see in this chapter that the nanoparticles, defined as particles that have at least one dimension in the nanorange, can have unique size-related structure, composition, stability, and reactivity. Given that nanoparticles and nanostructures are important and widespread components of soils, ranging from the nanomineral ferrihydrite, to a wide variety of mineral nanoparticles, to nanoscale aggregates of natural organic matter, to bacterial appendages known as nanowires, recent developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology are becoming increasingly important to our understanding of soil characteristics and behavior.
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