Metal Oxides Nanoparticles: General Structural Description, Chemical, Physical, and Biological Synthesis Methods, Role in Pesticides and Heavy Metal Removal through Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Nanotechnology (NT) is now firmly established in both the private home and commercial markets. Due to its unique properties, NT has been fully applied within multiple sectors like pharmacy and medicine, as well as industries like chemical, electrical, food manufacturing, and military, besides other economic sectors. With the growing demand for environmental resources from an ever-growing world population, NT application is a very advanced new area in the environmental sector and offers several advantages. A novel template synthesis approach is being used for the promising metal oxide nanostructures preparation. Synthesis of template-assisted nanomaterials promotes a greener and more promising protocol compared to traditional synthesis methods such as sol-gel and hydrothermal synthesis, and endows products with desirable properties and applications. It provides a comprehensive general view of current developments in the areas of drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, agriculture, and remediation. In the field of wastewater treatment, we focus on the adsorption of heavy metals and persistent substances and the improved photocatalytic decomposition of the most common wastewater pollutants. The drinking water treatment section covers enhanced pathogen disinfection and heavy metal removal, point-of-use treatment, and organic removal applications, including the latest advances in pesticide removal.

Nanostructured Metal Oxide-Based Electrochemical Biosensors in Medical Diagnosis

“…In the realm of clinical diagnostics, the paramount parameters for biosensors are sensitivity and selectivity, given their crucial role in furnishing accurate readings. Nanostructures emerge as particularly promising sensing materials in terms of sensitivity for several reasons: (1) the augmented surface area facilitates equivalence in size between nanoparticles and analytes, thereby enhancing sensitivity for diminutive analytes; (2) heightened direct electron transfer contributes to increased sensitivity and a refined limit of detection; and (3) the nanostructure's particle size, akin to the Debye length, efficiently amplifies sensor sensitivity [29].…”

“…Numerous nanomaterials can be categorized based on their size, morphological structure, and other characteristics. These include carbon-based materials, semiconductors, polymers, lipid-based materials, and nanostructured metal oxides (NMOs) [1,2]. Attributable to their exceptional physical and chemical characteristics, like superparamagnetic behavior, cold welding properties, unique catalytic activity, sensitivity, selectivity, high stability, highly ionic nature, unusual adsorptive properties, fast diffusivities, lower melting points, no swelling variations, easy functionalization, simple modification to the desired size, porosity, shape, and easy incorporation into both hydrophobic and hydrophilic systems, NMOs are among the most widely used nanomaterials.…”

Exploring the Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Antiviral Potential of Eco-Friendly Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Using Leaf Aqueous Extract of Portulaca oleracea L.

“…Nanobiotechnology has appeared as an interesting study area for different researchers due to its wide applications in varied sectors such as agriculture, wastewater treatment, catalysis, cloth manufacture, optical and electrical sensors, cosmetics, drug delivery, and medications [ 1 , 2 ]. Nanoparticles (NPs) have unique features such as small sizes (1 nm to 100 nm), thermal conductivity, shapes, plasmonic and magnetic characteristics, and a high surface area to volume [ 3 , 4 ] as compared to counter-bulk materials. Generally, these new active substances are produced by varied methods including chemical, physical, and biological ones.…”

Adsorption of Toxic Metals Using Hydrous Ferric Oxide Nanoparticles Embedded in Hybrid Ion-Exchange Resins

“…Improving the properties and performance of these adsorbents or developing new materials that can overcome these limitations for AMD remediation when necessary; hence, the growing interest in novel adsorbents that can enhance the adsorption processes. Researchers have explored using metal oxide nanoparticles as efficient adsorbents for heavy metal removal [ 25 ]. Metal oxide nanoparticles have a high surface area and reactivity, which enhance their adsorption capacity and selectivity [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”