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Nanomaterials
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Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science
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Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 29102

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Gabriella Salviulo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geoscience, University of Padua, via G. Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, PD, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; iron oxide nanoparticles; wastewater remediation; surface modification; adsorbents; heavy metals; nanomaterials characterization; environmental and social sustainability (human rights perspective)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The continuous advancement in nanotechnologies is improving their great potentiality and suitability to reach a sustainable and efficient water remediation. The main advantages, compared with traditional technologies, lie on scalability, high efficiency, low costs, and most importantly, the recyclability of the nanomaterials. In particular, nano-adsorption is gaining interest as one of the most effective methods to remove pollutants from wastewater without generating secondary pollution.

The main aim of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science is to disclose recent advancements in the developments of nanoparticles and engineered nanocomposites and their potential to be applied in the environmental field, including the recycling process. Particular attention will be paid to studies dealing with complex pollution scenarios, thus considering all the physical and chemical parameters controlling the interaction between the nanomaterial and pollutant, with the aim to move the application as a potential and sustainable treatment in real scenarios.

This Special Issue considers recent advancements in nanomaterials, with a special focus on the applications in environmental science. It is a pleasure to invite you to submit original research papers and short communications within the scope of this Special Issue. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Nanoadsorptive removal of heavy metal and metalloids
  • Photocatalytic water treatment
  • Water disinfection
  • Emerging and persistent organic pollutants degradation
  • Nanofiltration
  • Remediation of contaminated soils
  • Limitations of nanotechnologies for environmental applications

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Gabriella Salviulo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • sustainability
  • remediation
  • surface modification
  • adsorption
  • nano-catalyst
  • heavy metals
  • persistent pollutants

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 2583 KiB  
Article
Effective Modulation of Ion Mobility through Solid-State Single-Digit Nanopores
by Anping Ji, Bo Wang, Guofeng Xia, Jinjie Luo and Zhenghua Deng
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(22), 3946; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12223946 - 9 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1885
Abstract
Many experimental studies have proved that ion dynamics in a single-digit nanopore with dimensions comparable to the Debye length deviate from the bulk values, but we still have critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of ion transport in nanoconfinement. For many energy devices [...] Read more.
Many experimental studies have proved that ion dynamics in a single-digit nanopore with dimensions comparable to the Debye length deviate from the bulk values, but we still have critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of ion transport in nanoconfinement. For many energy devices and sensor designs of nanoporous materials, ion mobility is a key parameter for the performance of nanofluidic equipment. However, investigating ion mobility remains an experimental challenge. This study experimentally investigated the monovalent ion dynamics of single-digit nanopores from the perspective of ionic conductance. In this article, we present a theory that is sufficient for a basic understanding of ion transport through a single-digit nanopore, and we subdivided and separately analyzed the contribution of each conductance component. These conclusions will be useful not only in understanding the behavior of ion migration but also in the design of high-performance nanofluidic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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17 pages, 4629 KiB  
Article
One-Step Preparation of PVDF/GO Electrospun Nanofibrous Membrane for High-Efficient Adsorption of Cr(VI)
by Qingfeng Wang, Zungui Shao, Jiaxin Jiang, Yifang Liu, Xiang Wang, Wenwang Li and Gaofeng Zheng
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(18), 3115; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12183115 - 8 Sep 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2755
Abstract
Mass loading of functional particles on the surface of nanofibers is the key to efficient heavy metal treatment. However, it is still difficult to prepare nanofibers with a large number of functional particle loads on the surface simply and efficiently, which hinders the [...] Read more.
Mass loading of functional particles on the surface of nanofibers is the key to efficient heavy metal treatment. However, it is still difficult to prepare nanofibers with a large number of functional particle loads on the surface simply and efficiently, which hinders the further improvement of performance and increases the cost. Here, a new one-step strategy was developed to maximize the adhesion of graphene oxide (GO) particle to the surface of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers, which was combined with coaxial surface modification technology and blended electrospinning. The oxygen content on the as-prepared fiber surface increased from 0.44% to 9.32%, showing the maximized GO load. The increased adsorption sites and improved hydrophilicity greatly promoted the adsorption effect of Cr(VI). The adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) was 271 mg/g, and 99% removal rate could be achieved within 2 h for 20 mL Cr(VI) (100 mg/L), which was highly efficient. After five adsorption–desorption tests, the adsorption removal efficiency of the Cr(VI) maintained more than 80%, exhibiting excellent recycling performance. This simple method achieved maximum loading of functional particles on the fiber surface, realizing the efficient adsorption of heavy metal ions, which may promote the development of heavy-metal-polluted water treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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13 pages, 4008 KiB  
Article
Porous TiO2/Carbon Dot Nanoflowers with Enhanced Surface Areas for Improving Photocatalytic Activity
by Fengyan Song, Hao Sun, Hailong Ma and Hui Gao
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(15), 2536; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12152536 - 23 Jul 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2990
Abstract
Electron–hole recombination and the narrow-range utilization of sunlight limit the photocatalytic efficiency of titanium oxide (TiO2). We synthesized carbon dots (CDs) and modified TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with a flower-like mesoporous structure, i.e., porous TiO2/CDs nanoflowers. Among such hybrid [...] Read more.
Electron–hole recombination and the narrow-range utilization of sunlight limit the photocatalytic efficiency of titanium oxide (TiO2). We synthesized carbon dots (CDs) and modified TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with a flower-like mesoporous structure, i.e., porous TiO2/CDs nanoflowers. Among such hybrid particles, the CDs worked as photosensitizers for the mesoporous TiO2 and enabled the resultant TiO2/CDs nanoflowers with a wide-range light absorption. Rhodamine B (Rh-B) was employed as a model organic pollutant to investigate the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2/CDs nanoflowers. The results demonstrated that the decoration of the CDs on both the TiO2 nanoflowers and the (commercially available AEROXIDE TiO2) P25 NPs enabled a significant improvement in the photocatalytic degradation efficiency compared with the pristine TiO2. The TiO2/CDs nanoflowers, with their porous structure and larger surface areas compared to P25, showed a higher efficiency to prevent local aggregation of carbon materials. All of the results revealed that the introduced CDs, with the unique mesoporous structure, large surface areas and loads of pore channels of the prepared TiO2 NPs, played important roles in the enhancement of the photocatalytic efficiency of the TiO2/CDs hybrid nanoflowers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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23 pages, 17571 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Platinum Nanoparticles (PtNPs) Synthesis by Acid Phosphatase Mediated Eco-Benign Combined with Photocatalytic and Bioactivity Assessments
by Khalil ur Rehman, Mostafa Gouda, Umber Zaman, Kamran Tahir, Shahid Ullah Khan, Sumbul Saeed, Ebtihal Khojah, Alaa El-Beltagy, Ahmed A. Zaky, Mohamed Naeem, Muhammad Imran Khan and Noor Saeed Khattak
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(7), 1079; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12071079 - 25 Mar 2022
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 5045
Abstract
Noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) are viable alternative green sources compared to the chemical available methods in several approach like Food, medical, biotechnology, and textile industries. The biological synthesis of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs), as a strong photocatalytic agent, has proved as more effective and [...] Read more.
Noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) are viable alternative green sources compared to the chemical available methods in several approach like Food, medical, biotechnology, and textile industries. The biological synthesis of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs), as a strong photocatalytic agent, has proved as more effective and safer method. In this study, PtNPs were synthesized at four different temperatures (25 °C, 50 °C, 70 °C, and 100 °C). PtNPs synthesized at 100 °C were smaller and exhibited spherical morphology with a high degree of dispersion. A series of physicochemical characterizations were applied to investigate the synthesis, particle size, crystalline nature, and surface morphology of PtNPs. The biosynthesized PtNPs were tested for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiations. The results showed that PtNPs exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity by degrading 98% of MB only in 40 min. The acid phosphatase mediated PtNPs showed strong bacterial inhibition efficiency against S. aureus and E. coli. Furthermore, it showed high antioxidant activity (88%) against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH). In conclusion, this study provided an overview of the applications of PtNPs in food chemistry, biotechnology, and textile industries for the deterioration of the natural and synthetic dyes and its potential application in the suppression of pathogenic microbes of the biological systems. Thus, it could be used as a novel approach in the food microbiology, biomedical and environmental applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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11 pages, 10890 KiB  
Article
Effects of Nickel Nanoparticles on Rhodococcus Cell Surface Morphology and Nanomechanical Properties
by Maria S. Kuyukina, Grigorii G. Glebov and Irena B. Ivshina
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(6), 951; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12060951 - 14 Mar 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2510
Abstract
Nickel nanoparticles (NPs) are used for soil remediation and wastewater treatment due to their high adsorption capacity against complex organic pollutants. However, despite the growing use of nickel NPs, their toxicological towards environmental bacteria have not been sufficiently studied. Actinobacteria of the genus [...] Read more.
Nickel nanoparticles (NPs) are used for soil remediation and wastewater treatment due to their high adsorption capacity against complex organic pollutants. However, despite the growing use of nickel NPs, their toxicological towards environmental bacteria have not been sufficiently studied. Actinobacteria of the genus Rhodococcus are valuable bioremediation agents degrading a range of harmful and recalcitrant chemicals. Both positive and negative effects of metal ions and NPs on the biodegradation of organic pollutants by Rhodococcus were revealed, however, the mechanisms of such interactions, in addition to direct toxic effects, remain unclear. In the present work, the influence of nickel NPs on the viability, surface topology and nanomechanical properties of Rhodococcus cells have been studied. Bacterial adaptations to high (up to 1.0 g/L) concentrations of nickel NPs during prolonged (24 and 48 h) exposure were detected using combined confocal laser scanning and atomic force microscopy. Incubation with nickel NPs resulted in a 1.25–1.5-fold increase in the relative surface area and roughness, changes in cellular charge and adhesion characteristics, as well as a 2–8-fold decrease in the Young’s modulus of Rhodococcus ruber IEGM 231 cells. Presumably, the treatment of rhodococcal cells with sublethal concentrations (0.01–0.1 g/L) of nickel NPs facilitates the colonization of surfaces, which is important in the production of immobilized biocatalysts based on whole bacterial cells adsorbed on solid carriers. Based on the data obtained, cell surface functionalizing with NPs is possible to enhance adhesive and catalytic properties of bacteria suitable for environmental applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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13 pages, 1181 KiB  
Article
A Study on Machine Learning Methods’ Application for Dye Adsorption Prediction onto Agricultural Waste Activated Carbon
by Seyedehmaryam Moosavi, Otilia Manta, Yaser A. El-Badry, Enas E. Hussein, Zeinhom M. El-Bahy, Noor fariza Binti Mohd Fawzi, Jaunius Urbonavičius and Seyed Mohammad Hossein Moosavi
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(10), 2734; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102734 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 3773
Abstract
The adsorption of dyes using 39 adsorbents (16 kinds of agro-wastes) were modeled using random forest (RF), decision tree (DT), and gradient boosting (GB) models based on 350 sets of adsorption experimental data. In addition, the correlation between variables and their importance was [...] Read more.
The adsorption of dyes using 39 adsorbents (16 kinds of agro-wastes) were modeled using random forest (RF), decision tree (DT), and gradient boosting (GB) models based on 350 sets of adsorption experimental data. In addition, the correlation between variables and their importance was applied. After comprehensive feature selection analysis, five important variables were selected from nine variables. The RF with the highest accuracy (R2 = 0.9) was selected as the best model for prediction of adsorption capacity of agro-waste using the five selected variables. The results suggested that agro-waste characteristics (pore volume, surface area, agro-waste pH, and particle size) accounted for 50.7% contribution for adsorption efficiency. The pore volume and surface area are the most important influencing variables among the agro-waste characteristics, while the role of particle size was inconspicuous. The accurate ability of the developed models’ prediction could significantly reduce experimental screening efforts, such as predicting the dye removal efficiency of agro-waste activated carbon according to agro-waste characteristics. The relative importance of variables could provide a right direction for better treatments of dyes in the real wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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Review

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16 pages, 1786 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress in Morphology-Tuned Nanomaterials for the Electrochemical Detection of Heavy Metals
by Chinchu Gibi, Cheng-Hua Liu, Scott C. Barton and Jerry J. Wu
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(22), 3930; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12223930 - 8 Nov 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3175
Abstract
Heavy metals are one of the most important classes of environmental pollutants which are toxic to living beings. Many efforts are made by scientists to fabricate better sensors for the identification and quantification of heavy metal ions (HMI) in water and food samples [...] Read more.
Heavy metals are one of the most important classes of environmental pollutants which are toxic to living beings. Many efforts are made by scientists to fabricate better sensors for the identification and quantification of heavy metal ions (HMI) in water and food samples to ensure good health. Electrocatalysts have been demonstrated to play an important role in enhancing the sensitivity and selectivity of HMI detection in electrochemical sensors. In this review, we presented morphologically well-tuned nanomaterials used as efficient sensor materials. Based on the molecular dimensions, shapes, and orientation, nanomaterials can be classified into 0-D, 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D nanomaterials. Active surface areas with significant exposure of active sites and adsorption–desorption abilities are extensively varied with dimensionality, which in turn ultimately influence the sensing performance for HMI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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39 pages, 11484 KiB  
Review
Emerging MXene–Polymer Hybrid Nanocomposites for High-Performance Ammonia Sensing and Monitoring
by Vishal Chaudhary, Akash Gautam, Yogendra K. Mishra and Ajeet Kaushik
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(10), 2496; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102496 - 24 Sep 2021
Cited by 69 | Viewed by 5944
Abstract
Ammonia (NH3) is a vital compound in diversified fields, including agriculture, automotive, chemical, food processing, hydrogen production and storage, and biomedical applications. Its extensive industrial use and emission have emerged hazardous to the ecosystem and have raised global public health concerns [...] Read more.
Ammonia (NH3) is a vital compound in diversified fields, including agriculture, automotive, chemical, food processing, hydrogen production and storage, and biomedical applications. Its extensive industrial use and emission have emerged hazardous to the ecosystem and have raised global public health concerns for monitoring NH3 emissions and implementing proper safety strategies. These facts created emergent demand for translational and sustainable approaches to design efficient, affordable, and high-performance compact NH3 sensors. Commercially available NH3 sensors possess three major bottlenecks: poor selectivity, low concentration detection, and room-temperature operation. State-of-the-art NH3 sensors are scaling up using advanced nano-systems possessing rapid, selective, efficient, and enhanced detection to overcome these challenges. MXene–polymer nanocomposites (MXP-NCs) are emerging as advanced nanomaterials of choice for NH3 sensing owing to their affordability, excellent conductivity, mechanical flexibility, scalable production, rich surface functionalities, and tunable morphology. The MXP-NCs have demonstrated high performance to develop next-generation intelligent NH3 sensors in agricultural, industrial, and biomedical applications. However, their excellent NH3-sensing features are not articulated in the form of a review. This comprehensive review summarizes state-of-the-art MXP-NCs fabrication techniques, optimization of desired properties, enhanced sensing characteristics, and applications to detect airborne NH3. Furthermore, an overview of challenges, possible solutions, and prospects associated with MXP-NCs is discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanomaterials in Environmental Science)
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