Relationship between nanoporosity and other properties of soil

A study of the nanoporosity of soils was conducted to determine the correlation between several soil properties and nanoporosity as measured by mercury-intrusion porosimetry. The volume of pores with diameters 10⁴ nm and the surface area of these nanopores differed greatly among 16 soils. The volume and surface area of nanopores in some soils were mainly in pores of diameters < 100 nm. In others, the volume and surface area were associated chiefly with pores of 10³-10⁴ nm diameter. The volume was correlated with organic C content for pores of diameters of 10³-10⁴ nm and 10²-10³ nm (r values of 0.583 and 0.688, respectively) and clay content for pores with diameters < 10² nm (r value of 0.512). The surface area of the soils was correlated with volume of pores < 100 nm (r = 0.956). As a result of the abundance of nanopores and the large surface areas associated with them, we suggest that additional research be conducted to assess their importance in soil toxicology.