Abstract
Environmental pollution has become biggest threat to mankind due to its
adverse effects on human health and the ecosystem. Rapid industrialization, expansion
of urbanization and adoption of latest technologies lead to the release of hazardous byproducts and effluents that contaminate the environment. Nanotechnology has proved
to be a potential technique for environmental remediation. It involves the most
advanced processes that can be successfully utilized in overcoming the issues of
environmental contamination due to their unique properties. Multifunctional
characteristics of nanomaterials offer unparalleled opportunities in the elimination of
pollutants in the nanoscale like volatile compounds, heavy metals, inorganic and
organic ions, drugs, pesticides, aromatic heterocycles, biological toxins, pathogens, etc.
Nanomaterials with smaller size, higher surface area, quantum confinement and low
reduction potential bring versatility in their functionality. These nanomaterials can be
utilized as chemical oxidants, catalysts, adsorbents, nanosensors, etc. Surface
engineering of nanomaterials can be utilized to enhance their surface area and
maximize their reactivity for adsorption of pollutants and promote catalytic reactions
by oxidation or reduction of pollutants from contaminated medium. Besides surface
area, the selectivity of specific nanoparticles also affects the remediation process. In
this chapter, we have given a brief introduction to the nanoremediation pathways
broadly categorized into four categories: adsorption, photocatalysis, nano-membrane,
nanosensors for different classes of nanomaterials like carbon-based, metal and metal
oxides, magnetic, two dimensional, etc. Nanomaterials can prove to be efficient in
energy harvesting and storage applications due to the interplay between surface and
interface. Hence, there has been continuous demand for nanomaterials with new
architectures and physically controlled properties for the purpose of energy harvesting.