Impact of nanomaterial in environmental remediation and toxicity

Abstract:

The air, water and soil environments are continuously contaminated by various pollutants
posing tremendous hazardous impacts in environmental and human health worldwide
during last few decades. Recently, nanomaterial is the significant development of nanoscaled
size material with highly reactive large surface area in the material science. It offers
wide range of applications in protecting environmental and human health from hazardous
risks of pollutants. Considering the tremendous risks of environmental pollution and
potential impacts of nanomaterials in respect to environmental pollution, the present review
has attempted to draw an account on impact of nanomaterials in environmental remediation
and toxicity. This review has critically dealt the significant nanoremedial characteristics of
nanomaterials - iron, ferritin, copper peroxide, polymeric nanoparticles, nanotubes and
nanofibres, semiconductor photocatalytic nanoparticle, nanofiltration membrane,
antimicrobial nanomaterials, nanomaterial based sensor, etc. for cleaning up the polluted air,
water and soil environments. In addition to remediation, environmental toxicity impacts of
nanomaterials have also been briefly ellustrated herein as literatures obtained. Summarily,
though nanomaterials may have adverse impacts, due to having potential nanoremediation
capacity it could be considered and applied as a new and advanced remediation approach
that can enhance, improve or replace the existing conventional technologies to protect the
air, water and soil resources in order to achieve the environmental sustainability.