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Nanomaterials for water cleaning and desalination, energy production, disinfection, agriculture and green chemistry

Environmental Chemistry Letters volume 16, pages 11–34 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Nanomaterials may help to solve issues such as water availability, clean energy generation, control of drug-resistant microorganisms and food safety. Here we review innovative approaches to solve these issues using nanotechnology. The major topics discussed are wastewater treatment using carbon-based, metal-based and polymeric nanoadsorbents for removing organic and metal contaminants; nanophotocatalysis for microbial control; desalination of seawater using nanomembranes; energy conversion and storage using solar cells and hydrogen-sorbents nanostructures; antimicrobial properties of nanomaterials; smart delivery systems; biocompatible nanomaterials such as nanolignocellulosis and starches-based materials, and methods to decrease the toxicity of nanomaterials. Significantly, here it is reviewed two ways to palliate nanomaterials toxicity: (a) controlling physicochemical factors affecting this toxicity in order to dispose of more safe nanomaterials, and (b) harnessing greener synthesis of them to bring down the environmental impact of toxic reagents, wastes and byproducts. All these current challenges are reviewed at the present article in an effort to evaluate environmental implications of nanomaterials technology by means of a complete, reliable and critical vision.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

From Xiaolei et al. (2013), with permission from Elsevier

Fig. 3

Reproduced from Zhang et al. (2013), with permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry

Fig. 4

Reproduced from Hajipour et al. (2012), with permission from Elsevier

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Acknowledgements

The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and JJCC Castilla-La Mancha are gratefully acknowledged for funding this work with Grants CTQ2016-78793-P and JCCM PEIC- 2014-001-P, respectively.

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  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Technology, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. Camilo José Cela 10, 13004, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Mª Jesús Villaseñor & Ángel Ríos

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Villaseñor, M.J., Ríos, Á. Nanomaterials for water cleaning and desalination, energy production, disinfection, agriculture and green chemistry. Environ Chem Lett 16, 11–34 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-017-0656-9

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Keywords

  • Nanoadsorbents
  • Nanophotocatalysis
  • Solid-state hydrogen storage
  • Solar cells
  • Green synthesis
  • Toxicity