The Use of Silver Nanoparticles in Environmental Remediation

Abstract

The invention of nanoscience not only brings a revolutionary change in the field of science but also changed the direction of research. Today the whole world is under the trigger of nano and nanoparticles have multidimensional applications in every aspect of life including environmental point of view. Till today a plethora of nanoparticles have been synthesized and have also been applied for multiple purposes and hence grabbed the attention of researchers all over the world. Among the bunch of NPs discovered to date, we have a particular interest in silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) because of their cost-effectiveness and huge abundance in the earth’s crust. With respect to every passing day, due to various kinds of anthropological activities, the quality of the environment such as air, water and soil is depleting which ultimately hampers the human civilization. To encompass the growing environmental issues, many techniques have been adopted. Among the many strategies, tackling the current issues regarding environment through nanoscience is highly worthy as because of its cost-effectiveness, less time consuming and easy handling process. This article reviews the potential of nanoparticles, particularly silver nanoparticles, for a wide range of environmental applications, such as soil, air, and water remediation.

Silver Nanoparticles: Multifunctional Tool in Environmental Water Remediation

“…Silver nanoparticles (AgNps) are frequently used due to their properties such as excellent electrical conductivity, chemical stability, antibacterial properties, and optical properties, and their synthesis process is simple and profitable [10,11]. Their applications for environmental remediation are as follows: as antibacterial agents with enhanced effects at low concentrations against Gram-negative and positive bacteria [12]; as surface modifiers in adsorbent materials, where with the functionalization of the material they increase the textural properties, the surface charge and number of active sites are modified, which leads to an increase in the adsorbent capacity of the material, in addition to promoting selective adsorption, such as plasmonic colorimetric sensors for the detection of heavy metals through the perturbation of the plasmon of surface resonance (SPR) and a visual detection with the change in solution color [13]; as signal amplifiers in infrared spectroscopy (SEIRAS) and Raman (SERS) at concentrations lower than the detection limit of the instrument measurement [14]; and as plasmonic photocatalysts for the degradation of organic contaminants [15].…”

A Comprehensive Study of Electrocatalytic Degradation of M-Tolylhydrazine with Binary Metal Oxide (Er2O3@NiO) Nanocomposite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

“…Recently, many researchers have focused their research on the field of advanced materials by developing different kinds of doped/undoped semiconductor nanostructure materials, with the aim of environmental remediation, for the detection, removal, and degradation of ubiquitous contaminants via different analytical approaches [16][17][18][19][20]. Among these various analytical approaches, different electro-analytical approaches based on doped or undoped semiconductor nanostructure materials, as well as on heteronuclear nanostructure composites, have been also reported in the literature for the detection of toxic chemicals in our ecosystem [21][22][23].…”