Themed collection Nanomaterial applications in water

Strategic pairing of engineered nanomaterials to platforms will advance safe and effective deployment of nano-enabled water decontamination.

An international workshop identified how pore structures and unique properties that emerge at nano- to sub-nano- size domains can improve the energy efficiency and selectivity of electroseparation or electrocatalytic processes for treating water.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are gaining considerable interest for various uses ranging from adsorption, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, chemical sensing, catalysis and gas separation.

ZIF-based catalysts have great potential for PMS activation in environmental treatment. State of the art and prospects in recent breakthroughs are presented in this review.

Carbon nanomaterial-based membranes exhibit fascinating permselectivity for water and wastewater treatment, and their performance could be further improved under electrochemical assistance, benefiting from their good electrical conductivity.

This review provides guidance for solar absorber design, selection, and optimization, and evaporation system engineering for efficient solar-driven evaporation.

In the field of nanocatalysis, noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) have aroused tremendous attention owing to their superb catalytic efficiency, especially in the catalytic reduction of nitroaromatics.

Worldwide industrialization and population growth have caused dramatic environmental pollution that has led to a water crisis.

This review summarizes the application of porous g-C₃N₄ in water treatment and modification to enhance its catalytic performance, showing the potential of porous g-C₃N₄ for the actual treatment of water bodies.

Colorimetric sensors fabricated via nanomaterials and nanotechnology exhibited promising applications in environmental science.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with a nanoscale thickness are promising candidates for advanced molecular separations.

Nanomaterials have been demonstrated to be an effective adsorbent or an ion exchanger for selectively removing various radioactive species present in contaminated water while preventing radionuclides from entering and interacting with the biosphere.

Advanced electrocatalysts for halogenated organic pollutant degradation.

The development of enrichment–separation–analysis technologies is the cornerstone of accurately detecting, effectively monitoring, and controlling ENPs in aquatic environments.

The solvent-free chemical vapor crosslinking can directly fix the interlayer spacing of GO membranes for better water treatment.

Al-MOF synthesized based on MOF irradiation stability rules exhibits high stability against β-irradiation and ultra-high thorium adsorption capacity, which proves its huge potential application value in the field of radionuclide adsorption.

Nucleation and growth of terbium-doped amorphous calcium phosphate (Tb-ACP) on cellulose fibers of a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD) towards an environmentally friendly design of a sensor for water pollutant.

Higher order trends in the photocatalytic activity of semiconductors, concerning environmental remediation and energy applications, under increasing light illumination may originate in part or in whole from potential dependent kinetics.

S doping promoted the conversion of Fe(III) to Fe(II), which greatly improved the performance of the Fenton-like reaction.

A core–shell silver-encapsulated polypyrrole, Ag@PPy, was prepared via in situ synthesis for simultaneous efficient adsorption and immobilization of iodide and iodate.

The continuous monitoring of remote drinking water purification systems is a global challenge with direct consequences for human and environmental health. Nanoplasmonic sensors can monitor treatment systems and warn of failures.

The elaborate design of the peroxydisulfate-based nonradical oxidation process. Nitrogen vacancies enhanced the surface affinity between the catalyst and PDS, and thus, the formation of the key complex (i.e., ACN–PDS*).

Fe₃S₄/Ti₃C₂MXene shows over 90% TC degradation via Fenton activity, driven by the generation of reactive oxygen species. It exhibits remarkable reusability and stability over multiple cycles, promising sustainable TC removal from wastewater.

Most researchers believe that the high catalytic activity of FeOCl originates from its unique structure. In this study, we show that dissolved iron contributes significantly to the catalytic activity of FeOCl in the Fenton and photo-Fenton processes.

A carbonized PAN array was designed and applied as an effective SERS substrate. It provided a significant signal enhancement (∼10⁵) with its strong broadband charge-transfer resonance and high reproducibility and consistency in the SERS spectrum.

Pharmaceutical-induced water pollution threatens health and ecosystems. Advanced oxidation, like electrocatalysis with peroxymonosulfate and calcium copper titanate as a key catalyst, shows promise for removing trace pollutants.

Nanoconfinement in silica nanopores strengthens hydrogen bonds near surfaces, and weakens hydrogen bonds in nanopore volume away from the surfaces.

In this study, carbon black nanoparticles were introduced in one-step to develop a super-hydrophobic polystyrene foam with efficient photo-thermal conversion and adsorption for highly viscous crude oil.

A rational approach for exploiting the physicochemical properties of porous silica nanospheres (pSN) affecting biomolecule immobilization and aromatic water pollutant monitoring has been demonstrated.

A heterostructured diatomic catalyst synthesized by a microwave hydrothermal method accelerates interfacial charge transfer and enhances the ability to treat antibiotic wastewater.

The incubation of agarose hydrogels embedded with BSA and chloroauric acid in alkali solutions facilitates the in situ growth of gold nanoclusters in capillary microcontainers, enabling the portable detection of ClO⁻ with fluorescent responses.

The influence of the preparation process (sulfurization method, sulfur reagents, and S/Fe molar ratio) and the decontamination conditions (initial pH value, and temperature) on the decontamination effect was quantitatively evaluated by meta-analysis.

The combination of peptide nanosheets and magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanozymes promotes colorimetric detection and selective adsorption of Hg²⁺.

Proposed mechanism of catalytic ozonation in different surface acid sites of oxide aqueous suspensions.

The hollow Cu–Co HNB catalyst selectively reduces NO₃⁻ to N₂ by tandem catalysis in a chlorine-free system.

A novel hierarchical structured Cu@carbon/carbon cloth film is developed for highly-efficient interfacial solar steam generation.

The in situ ultrasonic texturization of commercial Fe powder was employed to replace the n-ZVI for U(VI) extraction in fluoride (F⁻)-containing wastewater.

In this study, we present a novel strategy of accelerating cycle of Fe(II)/Fe(III) in iron-mediated catalyst for heterogeneous Fenton-like processes.

Graphene-supported C₃N₄/TiO₂ hetero-aerogels with high photocatalytic properties and sustainability are designed and synthesized.

Iron-based poly(ionic liquid)/polydopamine composite shows excellent degradation performance for organic pollutants, providing a promising route for the design of efficient and stable heterogeneous Fenton catalysts.

Schematic diagram of the photocatalytic reduction mechanism for the PAM40 system.

A leaf vein-biomimetic nanofibrous membrane was constructed by nonsolvent-induced phase inversion for high-performance surface filtration of water contaminants.

Harmful algal blooms lead to cyanobacteria toxins increase in natural water. A novel nanochannel-based sensing system utilizing metal–organic frameworks and DNA aptamers was developed for highly sensitive detecting microcystin-LR in real water.

Superior catalytic activity toward As(III) for P FeCo₂O_4−x/GCE with increasing reductive Fe(II)/Co(II) sites.

Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) with electrochemical technique has been regarded as an effective method for the treatment of toxic Cr(VI) contaminated wastewater.

A multi-ratiometric fluorescence sensor was designed for the sensing of the anthrax biomarker based on a bimetallic lanthanide metal–organic framework.

Promoting the growth of sulfide particles by regulating heterogeneous nucleation and aggregation to facilitate their sedimentation and separation.

In the current work, a CuS nanoflower-modified ZnO nanorod heterojunction was synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method.

The feasibility of a novel surface-anchored bifunctional photocatalytic nanofiltration membrane for simultaneously degrading and separating target antibiotics in sewage effluent in a continuous flow-through process was verified.

The mechanism of antibiotic photodegradation on SA-BiOCl.

The study reports a concept for fabrication of [MoS₄]²⁻ clusters intercalated into CaAl-LDH for heavy metal removal, which involves Pb–S bonding for Pb(II) and lattice substitution for Cd(II).

A new cationic porous organic polymer (VBT-POP) has been synthesized and it showed excellent selective and quantitative adsorptive removal of anionic dyes RB (1252 mg g⁻¹) and XO (735 mg g⁻¹).

BiO_1−XBr/CeVO₄ S-scheme heterostructures with rich oxygen vacancies boosted the simultaneous removal of Cr(VI) and tetracycline.

The fabricated nano-sized magnetic material exhibited an excellent removal performance towards 9-phenanthrene, and its underlying binding mechanism is proposed.

A novel strategy of “preadsorption–degradation” for efficient PFOA removal based on the EC-NaClO system with an Fe/Ni foam electrode has been successfully achieved.

Electrochemical sensor with green gold sononanoparticles (from Malva sylvestris leaf extract) and carbon black onto a Sonogel-Carbon electrode to determine simultaneously hydroquinone, catechol and resorcinol in various water samples.

Gold nanosphere-encapsulated mesoporous silica exhibits excellent performance in phenol degradation by providing high surface area, blocking external interfering materials, and preventing leakage of gold nanospheres.

A carbon nanoparticle-based visual fluorescent array sensing–artificial intelligence (deep learning) integrated platform for remote detection of toxic heavy metal ions.

A 3D-MoS₂ based wood sponge absorbent was upcycled to construct a solar steam generator for drinking water purification.

The activation of peroxymonosulfate by metal-doped C–N-based materials has been used extensively for pollutant degradation but usually suffers from low efficiency and stability due to the relatively few N coordination sites.

Rational design of covalent organic frameworks has been performed for efficient photocatalytic H₂O₂ production without using any sacrificial agent.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are used as remediation agents against nanoplastic pollutants. Magnetic particle spectroscopy is utilized as an advanced characterization method and limits of the approach are highlighted.

Understanding the interaction of wood-based nanomaterials with different pharmaceuticals is basic for future engineering of nanostructured wood-based adsorbents for pharmaceutical pollutants.

A dual-emission ratiometric fluorescence probe for the simultaneous detection of tetracycline (TC) and Fe³⁺ in aqueous solution was fabricated based on a boron-doped carbon quantum dot (B-CQD)/CdTe–Eu³⁺ composite.

Recyclable magnetic COFs/Fe₃O₄ synthesized using ball-milling showed fast and high adsorption for two PFOS and PFOA substitutes in water.

Ultrathin Bi₄O₅Br₂ nanosheets with surface oxygen vacancies and strong interfacial interaction with Bi₂O₂CO₃ for highly efficient removal of water contaminants.

Novel magnetic conjugated microporous polymer hollow spheres (CMP-HSs@Fe₃O₄) with high specific surface areas were synthesized for the absorption of antibiotics and the sterilization of microbes in wastewater, and possessed superior sterilization performance.

The purpose of this study is to immobilize GOPEI on a spongin skeleton coated with an alginate coating layer in order to generate a cohesive composite that is very efficient in removing Hg and can be easily recovered from remediated water.

SERS with molecular immobilization and resonant Raman amplification by complex-loaded enhancer (MIRRACLE) enables detection of hazardous phenolic pollutants down to nM concentrations in gasoline fuel and freshwater samples.

As-synthesized new compound Mn₅P₄O₂₀H₈ show effective removal of heavy metal ions down to the mark of tolerance concentration (parts per billion level) from drinking water with synergistic pathway of surface hydroxyl group trapping and lattice ion-exchange.