Nanomaterial in Environmental Applications

The world is facing severe environmental pollutions, which have impaired the well-beings of human health. The major environmental challenges to be addressed in the next few decades include water safety, global warming, and atmosphere pollution, etc. These aspects desperately need breakthroughs for the sake of all human beings. For example, the United Nation has listed clean water and sanitation as an important goal among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stressing the importance of water safety in the sustainable development of humans.

Owing to the excellent properties of nanoscale materials, they have been widely used in the areas of catalysis, sensing, biomedical, and energy storage, etc. More recently, the deployment of nanomaterials into environmental applications has witnessed an explosive growth, and significant progresses have been achieved. However, the industrial demands are usually more practical, and often aim at higher degree of accuracy, potency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. This implies that the synthesis of nanomaterials for environmental application has to follow the principle of reduced waste and low cost, besides the necessary decent functions in their respective applications. At current stage, although various nanomaterials have been developed, their classification from the sustainability point of view is particularly lacking.

This special issue adheres to addressing the emerging environmental challenges through the application of nanomaterials. The nanomaterials with following properties are particularly welcomed:

1. High performance in functions
2. High cost-effectiveness in terms of material cost and performance
3. Green synthesis procedure with reduced or zero waste
4. Multifunctional materials that simultaneously achieve two or more purposes, etc.

This special issue accepts submissions in the form of article, short communication, and comprehensive reviews, and aims to provide a platform for discussing how state-of-the-art nanomaterials can address environmental issues.

Guest Editors

• Long Chen, Northeastern University, Boston, USA
• Ying Huang, Zhejiang University, China