A new scope for Environmental Science: Nano in its tenth year

We have now crossed the halfway mark of 2024, a year which has marked a milestone of Environmental Science: Nano in the form of its 10th anniversary.

So far this year, we have published two noteworthy article collections. The first, on advanced materials (https://rsc.li/esnano-advanced), showcases cutting-edge research on nanomaterials for environmental applications. The second, centered around the nanocircular economy (https://rsc.li/NanocircularEco), delves into leveraging nanomaterials for sustainability, which has always been a core mission for the journal. We thank Wendel Wohlleben, Jérôme Rose, Mark Wiesner and Leanne Gilbertson for their efforts in guest editing these special collections, as well as the reviewers and authors for their contributions.

Since our inaugural issue in January 2014 as the first society journal solely focused on environmental science and nanotechnology, Environmental Science: Nano has been a dedicated platform for top-tier research in environmental nanotechnology. As we look towards the future, it is important for us to continue to ensure that the journal represents the field as a whole and provides strong coverage of the evolving topics that interest the community. As such, the editorial board has developed the following updated scope of Environmental Science: Nano (Fig. 1):

Fig. 1 Overview of the new scope of Environmental Science: Nano.

Environmental Science: Nano is a comprehensive, high-impact journal focused on nanoscale materials and processes in the environment. The scope encompasses beneficial uses and adverse impacts of engineered, natural and incidental nanomaterials in air, water, soil and environmentally-relevant systems.

This includes, but is not limited to, the following topic areas:

• Innovative nanoscale applications for water, air, soil, food, climate, and energy sustainability

• Safe and sustainable by design principles including rational nanomaterial design, life cycle assessment, risk/benefit analyses

• Environmentally relevant nanomaterial interactions with biological systems and nanotoxicology

• Environmental fate, reactivity, and transformations of nanoscale materials, including nanoplastics and ultrafine atmospheric particles

• Analytical methods for characterisation of nanoscale processes and materials

• Development and testing of nanoscale sensors for environmental deployment.

Our aim when developing this modified scope statement is to reflect the coverage of Environmental Science: Nano in all aspects of environmental nanoscale materials and processes, as well as to highlight our interest in topic areas such as nanoplastics, ultrafine atmospheric particles, and nanoscale sensors. We continue to affirm our rigorous quality standards, and we encourage authors, readers and reviewers to read the new scope statement in full at https://rsc.li/esnano.

We hope that this change supports our ever-evolving field and community, and we look forward to continuing to publish high impact research in environmental nanoscience. I sincerely thank all of you – board members, authors, reviewers and readers alike – for your continued support of Environmental Science: Nano.

 

Peter Vikesland

Pryor Professor of Engineering, Virginia Tech

Editor-in-Chief, Environmental Science: Nano

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