Themed collection Best Papers 2022 – Environmental Science: Nano

This review highlights the characteristics of adsorption and desorption of aromatic VOCs on various PCAs as well as the integrated technologies for emission control and resource recovery of industrial VOC exhaust.

A comprehensive and critical overview of graphene-based adsorbents in capturing various water contaminants within the recent five years is presented to drive the rational development of high-performance adsorbents with graphene and its derivatives.

MNPs may undergo different environmental transformations in aquatic systems, consequently changing their mobility, bioavailability and toxicity to freshwater invertebrates.

Surface modified nano-catalysts to improve the performance of photocatalytic degradation of VOC.

This article reviews the plant uptake of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) that occurred in soil systems and the in planta fate of Ag.

An antibody-functionalized gold nanorod array enables the realization of a reusable early-warning system for detecting harmful pathogens dispersed in drinkable water.

Mineral dust aerosols in snow were analyzed by single particle ICP-MS with machine learning to classify particle groups.

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

A hetero-phase junction was constructed with metallic 1T and semiconductive 2H MoS₂, which exhibited outstanding photo-Fenton catalytic performance to effectively degrade organic pollutants in the aquatic environment.

The combination of nanocarrier delivery and genetic manipulation significantly improves chlorfenapyr efficiency and has great potential for sustainable crop protection.

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPLs) are intentionally produced for commercial uses (primary MNPLs) or are formed from environmentally aged plastics (secondary MNPLs).

A 2D/0D Bi₁₂O₁₇Cl₂/AgBr Z-scheme photocatalyst provides a jointed synchronous pathway for simultaneous Cr(VI) and TC removal.

Stannous sulfide (SnS) is a promising candidate for gas sensing applications due to its unique two-dimensional (2D) puckered monolayer and response capability at room temperature (25 °C).

Multi-elemental spICP-TOFMS is used to simultaneously classify mixtures of engineered, incidental, and natural Ce-containing nanoparticles based on conserved Ce : La and Ce : Nd ratios in natural Ce particles.

Construction of a type-II heterostructured Sb₂S₃/CdS photocatalyst for highly improved simulated-sunlight-driven Cr(VI) reduction.

One deed for two needs-inspired bifunctional MnO₂@PPy nanocomposites for solar-driven water evaporation at the rate of 12.31 kg m⁻² per day and enhanced photo-thermoelectric power generation with an output power density (P_out ∼ 12.3 W m⁻²).

Candle soot nanoparticles deposited onto hydrophilic cellulose foam greatly improved the solar-powered steam generation and yield of freshwater, resulting in the production of low-cost potable water from brackish input water.

In vitro root amendment with CDs can promote photosynthesis of lettuce by enhancing photoreaction processes and CO₂ fixation.

SPc can be conjugated with dinotefuran through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces, which reduce particle size, increase plant uptake and bioactivity, and decrease residue. The dinotefuran/SPc complex is relatively safe to predators and plants.

This study addresses barriers to large-scale application of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) in water treatment schemes through its affixation onto granular activated carbon (AC) as an active adsorbing platform.

H₂O₂-free photo-Fenton oxidation over OCN-nano MnFe₂O₄ (OMF) composites is an effective solution to degrade antibiotics in water. OMF shows high biocompatibility and high pH tolerance and can be easily recycled via magnetic separation.

Pd⁰ and N vacancy co-modified g-C₃N₄ displayed excellent NO-removal activity.

An in situ synthesis strategy was used to prepare a GO/COFs composite for the effective adsorption of organic pollutants from environmental water.

Chemical vapor deposition method was utilized to grow multilayer 2D-WS₂. The as grown semiconductor 2D-WS₂ shows excellent piezo-catalytic water purification ability.

g-C₃N₄/CNTs/ACF with improved H₂O₂ production and Fe²⁺ regeneration showed an excellent performance in the treatment of landfill leachate concentrate.

A novel manganese-crosslinking sodium alginate modified biochar and zerovalent iron composite (Mn/SA-BC@nZVI) was prepared for the simultaneous removal of arsenite (As(III)) and cadmium (Cd(II)) from contaminated water.

Our data demonstrated the association of the increase in germline methyltransferases required for methylation of H3K9 with transgenerational nanoplastic toxicity in nematodes.

In the current study, we propose a new quantitative read-across methodology for predicting the toxicity of newly synthesized NPs based on the similarity with structural analogues.

High throughput imaging is used to assess hatching, lethality and malformations in zebrafish embryos and is suitable for hazard ranking of different nanomaterials.