Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
DOI 10.1007/s40726-016-0045-1
WATER POLLUTION (S SENGUPTA, SECTION EDITOR)
Nano-Particle-Mediated Wastewater Treatment: a Review
Ankita Ghosh 1 & Ashish Kumar Nayak 1 & Anjali Pal 1
Published online: 25 November 2016
# Springer International Publishing AG 2016
Abstract Nowadays, due to increase in worldwide popula-
tion and rapid urbanization, water demand in the region is
increasing fast while water quality is deteriorating. The phys-
ical, chemical, and biological characteristics are changing in a
fast way due to the accumulation of contaminants such as
heavy metals, synthetic dyes, and organic and inorganic ma-
terials. This makes the water harmful for the biotic and abiotic
components of the ecosystem. Various noble approaches have
been employed by the researchers in order to replace the tra-
ditional wastewater treatment methods. In this regard, nano-
technology has occupied a central position in the areas of
research. The term Bnano-technology^ is a branch of science
which acknowledges the manipulation of materials at nano-
scale. These materials may have large specific surface area,
high reactivity, degree of functionalization, size-dependent
properties, etc., which make them suitable for execution in
water purification and wastewater treatment. This paper brief-
ly reviews the current advances and application of nano-
materials for wastewater treatment. Here, various types of
nano-materials such as carbon nano-tubes, MnO2 nano-sheets,
graphene composites, metal oxides, antimicrobial nano-mate-
rials, and photocatalysts, which are employed in the field of
wastewater treatment, have been dissertated.
Keywords Nano-technology . Wastewater treatment .
Graphene . Carbon nano-tubes . MnO2 nano-sheets .
Antimicrobial nano-materials
This article is part of the Topical Collection on Water Pollution
* Anjali Pal
anjalipal@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in
1
Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur 721302, India
Introduction
Water scarcity problems are beginning in different regions of
the world as a result of population growth, heavy industriali-
zation, environmental pollution, and climate change. The wa-
ter pollutants exist either in inorganic or organic forms. The
inorganic pollutants can again be either cationic or anionic.
The anionic pollutants comprise of F−, arsenite and arsenate,
chromate, etc., whereas the cationic pollutants include heavy
metals such as Pb(II), Hg(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II).
These pollutants enter into wastewater either from industrial
effluents, or they may arise due to leaching of rocks from the
nearby regions, resulting in the contaminated water to be used
for industrial or domestic purposes. Thus, it is necessary to
accomplish essential wastewater treatment technologies in the
water-scarce areas. This may reduce the requirement of fresh-
water in a large way. The organic pollutants include mainly
synthetic dyes, drugs, and microbes, which arise from the
various industrial activities like textile, dairy, biomedical,
pharmaceuticals, distillery, and cannery, and they might have
significant contribution to the wastewater characteristics.
Treatment of the wastewater should consider all the aspects
related to the contaminant remediation, and also, it has to
ensure that the discharged water is free from any substance
that might adversely affect the human health and the
environment.
Furthermore, nano-technology is a field of applied science
concerned with controlling the characteristics of matter based
on dimensions ranging from 1 to 100 nm (1 nm is one billionth
of a meter). The appeal of nano-materials is that they can be
engineered to function in ways that naturally occurring mate-
rials do not. Their large surface area per unit volume and
enhanced chemical reactivity could be exploited in noble ap-
plications [1]. Researchers in nano-technology anticipate that
it has profound effect on industry and technology; human
18
health; socio-economic development; and environment such
as biomedical, manufacturing, energy, water supply, and
wastewater treatment industries.
In the recent past of scientific research, nano-technology
has found its place to treat the wastewater effectively without
much adverse effect on the surroundings, which makes the
process to be sustainable in terms of environment and cost.
Nano-materials have been profoundly employed in water and
wastewater treatments, as rendered due to their distinctive
properties such as large specific surface area, high reactivity
and affinity toward the target contaminants, and high extent of
functionalization [2]. Other detailed research work is being
carried out in laboratories for the further improvement of the
process efficiency. However, some of them are too costly due
to the requirement of precious elements like gold, silver, plat-
inum, and titanium, while the alternatives like iron, clay, and
graphene are cost-effective in nature. So, it is up to the discre-
tion of the engineers to choose a process optimization which is
eco-friendly, cost-effective, and efficient to be utilized for the
purpose of pollutant remediation in wastewater treatment.
In this review article, we have emphasized on the applica-
tion of nano-particles for wastewater treatment developed dur-
ing the past 20 years. Although many of the technologies are
still in the laboratory experimental stage, some have been
potentially applied to real fields. Here, we have classified the
nano-particles and their applications based mainly on their
material characteristics. The emphasis is given on carbon-
based and metal-based nano-particles. The performance of
the materials has been discussed briefly. The subdivisions un-
der the aforesaid two categories will be enlightened while
going through this paper.
Carbon-Based Nano-Materials
Adsorption by activated carbon is a widely defined and tradi-
tional method for wastewater treatment. Besides the presence
of pores, the activity of activated carbon is also due to the
presence of reactive species, such as free radicals, oxygenated
functional groups, and attached heteroatoms. The two main
commercial forms of activated carbon are powdered (PAC)
and granular (GAC), which being extensively used in water
purification and wastewater treatment and are often consid-
ered best available technology for removing both organic and
heavy metal pollutants. A new class of carbon-based adsor-
bent has been introduced with the discovery of carbon nano-
tubes (CNTs) in the 90s. CNT can be synthesized as single- or
multiple-walled nano-tubes, consisting of graphitic shells ar-
ranged in tubes with diameters of few millimeters and large
length/diameter ratio [3].
Activated Carbon Activated carbons are the oldest and sim-
plest materials used for the adsorption of pollutants in the
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
treatment process. Over the years, these have been used for
water treatment even in domestic households. In addition,
scientists have prepared different composites through activat-
ed carbon in order to enhance the efficacy of pollutant removal
and also to decrease the contact time required for this purpose.
Zhang et al. [4] have carried out the experiments to evaluate
the performance of PAC in removing from the water 6 repre-
sentative groups of 28 antibiotics, namely, tetracyclines,
macrolides, chloramphenicols, penicillins, sulfonamides, and
quinolones. Results indicated that PAC demonstrated superior
adsorption capacity for all the aforesaid antibiotics. The re-
moval efficiency was up to 99.9% in deionized water and
99.6% in surface water under the optimum conditions with
PAC dosage of 20 mg L−1 and contact time of 120 min. The
researchers confirmed that PAC is a feasible and viable option
for removing antibiotics from water in terms of water quality
improvement and urgent antibiotic pollution control. Rapid
adsorption of hazardous anionic dyes, namely, sunset yellow
and eosin B in the presence of cationic dye, i.e., methylene
blue from ternary solutions using copper oxide nano-particle
loaded on activated carbon (Cu2O-NP-AC), was well investi-
gated and elucidated by Agarwal et al. [5]. The numerical
optimization revealed that the optimum removal (>96.0%)
for all dyes were achieved using 0.5 g L-1 dose and 25, 15,
and 15 mg L−1 of sunset yellow, eosin B, and methylene blue
dyes, respectively, after 4 min of sonication at pH 5.0 and
under predefined conditions. The maximum adsorption capac-
ities obtained were 113, 137, and 110 mg g−1, respectively, for
the three dyes sunset yellow, eosin B, and methylene blue.
Asfaram et al. [6] have worked on the rapid ultrasound-
assisted removal of methylene blue and auramine-O dyes
from aqueous solutions using ZnS:Cu nano-particles loaded
on activated carbon (ZnS:Cu-NP-AC) as a low cost and envi-
ronmental friendly adsorbent. A small amount of the adsor-
bent was able to remove more than 99.5% of both dyes rapidly
with high adsorption capacity in single-component system
(106.9 and 94.2 mg g−1) and in binary-component system
(51.7 and 38.1 mg g−1). The above-mentioned results were
revealed at neutral pH to optimize the adsorption process for
the selected dyes, which is an advantage of the work. Gold
nano-particles loaded on activated carbon (Au-NP-AC)
(0.015 g) were applied for a successful removal of alizarin
red S (95%) within a time interval of 5 min, and the material
also showed a high adsorption capacity (123.4 mg g−1) [7].
Similarly, Mokhtari et al. [8] have removed methyl orange dye
by copper sulfide nano-particles impregnated on the commer-
cial activated carbon. Abdelbassit et al. [9] have synthesized
the activated carbon/silica composite for the simultaneous re-
moval of dichloromethane, trichloromethane, and carbon tet-
rachloride. Chromium-doped zinc oxide nano-particles
(ZnO:Cr-NPs) were deposited on activated carbon (ZnO:Cr-
NP-AC) and used for simultaneous ultrasound-assisted re-
moval of three toxic organic dyes such as malachite green,
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
eosin yellow, and auramine-O [10]. The major problem for
simultaneous investigation is that the dye spectra overlap in
mixed systems which were extensively resolved by derivative
spectrophotometric method. The adsorption capacities of
214.0, 189.7, and 211.6 mg g−1 were obtained for malachite
green, eosin yellow, and auramine-O, respectively. Sliver
nano-particles (AgNPs) immobilized on the sintered activated
carbon (Ag/SAC) were synthesized by Wang et al. [11] using
ultrasonic-assisted impregnation method. Results concluded
that the minimum inhibitory concentrations such as
5 mg L−1 (against Escherichia coli) and 10 mg L−1 (against
Staphylococcus aureus) recommend that Ag/SAC have pre-
dominant antibacterial activity compared to active carbon.
The zero-valent iron nano-particles (Fe 0 NPs) were
immobilized on the SAC to treat simulated lead-bearing
wastewater and found to be not only effective but also safe
for purification of drinking water [12]. AgNPs were selective-
ly impregnated by Biswas et al. [13] on the external surface of
plasma-treated, activated carbon granules (referred to as Ag-
AC hybrid, having 0.8 wt% of Ag), for achieving continuous
disinfection of water in a single flow-column setup. The Ag
concentration in the outlet water was only up to 29.8 mg L−1 at
steady state, which is well within the recommended limit of
100 mg L−1 for drinking water. Finally, the water disinfection
for potable quality water (zero E. coli count and <100 mg L−1
Ag) can be achieved in a continuous manner over a long
duration, with the packed Ag-AC column.
Carbon Nano-Tubes The discovery of fullerenes and CNTs
is of immense importance in the history of environmental
engineering. CNTs, in particular, hold potential in applica-
tion in wastewater treatment because of its properties like
high thermal and electrical conductivities, high strength
and stiffness, and special adsorption properties [14]. Li
et al. [15] have reported that the CNTs while oxidized with
H2O2, KMnO4, and HNO3 show enhanced adsorption ca-
pacity for Cd(II) removal. The maximum adsorption ca-
pacity of CNTs oxidized with KMnO 4 at pH 5.5 was
11 mg g−1. Lu et al. [16] have used commercial single-
walled CNTs and multi-walled CNTs and oxidized by
employing sodium hypochlorite solutions. The materials
were further used for Zn(II) removal from water. Fluoride
has been adsorbed from water by amorphous Al2O3 sup-
ported on CNTs [17]. Also, aligned CNTs, a new kind of
carbon material, were prepared by catalytic degradation of
xylene using ferrocene as catalyst, and the material was
used for the adsorption of fluoride from drinking water
[18]. CNTs have also been used for the removal of organic
pollutants like 1,2-dichlorobenzene [19], trihalomethanes
[20], n-nonane, and CCl4 [21]. Agnihotri et al. [22] have
reported that the organic compounds, namely, toluene,
methyl ethyl ketone, hexane, and cyclohexane, have been
adsorbed from water using CNTs. Stafiej and Pyrzynska
19
[23] have prepared modified CNTs by soaking in 50 mL
of 8 mol L−1 HNO3 for 12 h at room temperature, and then,
the solution was filtered through a 0.45-μm membrane fil-
ter. The CNTs were washed with deionized water until the
neutral pH. They used the treated CNTs for the removal of
heavy metals such as Cu, Co, Zn, Mn, and Pb. It was found
that the affinities of heavy metals toward CNTs at pH of 9 were
in the order of Cu(II) > Pb(II) > Co(II) > Zn(II) > Mn(II). Wang
et al. [24] have employed pristine and acidified multi-walled
CNTs (with different durations of soaking in HNO3 solution),
and annealed multi-walled CNTs (prepared in an argon flow at
a temperature of 800 °C for 2 h to remove the functional groups
of acidified CNTs), in order to remove the Pb(II) ion through
adsorption process. The results indicated that the maximum
adsorption capacity of acidified, annealed, and pristine
multi-walled CNTs for Pb(II) were 91, 22.5, and 7.2 mg g−1,
respectively. Furthermore, Wang et al. [25] have prepared
manganese oxide-coated CNTs (MnO2/CNTs), which acts
as an adsorbent for the removal of lead (II) from aqueous
solution. They found that the adsorption capacity of Pb(II)
was 78.74 mg g−1 from the Langmuir isotherm model. In
contrast, they also reported that the Pb(II) removal capacity
of MnO2/CNTs decreased with the decrease in pH. Xu
et al. [26] have applied oxidized multi-walled CNTs as an
adsorbent to remove Pb(II) from aqueous solution. On the
other hand, thermally treated multi-walled CNTs were
employed for the adsorption of natural organic matters
from aqueous solution, as reported by Lu and Su [27].
Recently, porous carbons are found to have great potential
in adsorption and in membrane synthesis for water filtration as
they are considered as Bmolecular sieve materials.^ Srivastava
et al. [28] manufactured water filters with CNTs which were
reusable. These filters could effectively remove bacterial path-
ogens from contaminated water. Wegmann et al. [29] modi-
fied nano-structured filters with microporous ceramics, which
removed 25-nm-diameter MS2 bacteriophages with 99.99%
efficiency. Nano-porous-activated carbon fibers prepared by
electrospinning of CNTs showed much higher organic sorp-
tion equilibrium constants for benzene, toluene, xylene, and
ethyl benzene as compared to that of granular-activated car-
bon [30]. The aforesaid observations indicate that the porous
behavior of the nano-adsorbents plays an important role in the
wastewater treatment.
Graphene Graphene is a 2D structure with monoatomic
thickness having surface area of 2630 m2 g−1 [31]. It can be
classified into graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene
oxide (RGO). GO is a unique material that can be viewed as
a single monomolecular layer of graphite with various oxygen
containing functionalities such as epoxide, carbonyl, carbox-
yl, and hydroxyl groups. It is being used as nano-material,
polymer composite material, biomedical applicants, catalysts,
etc. When the electrically insulating GO is reduced, the RGO
20
formed resembling graphene but contains residual oxygen and
other heteroatoms as well as structural defects. A fabrication
procedure for RGO that more closely resembles with pristine
graphene is an outstanding challenge in the field.
Nevertheless, since RGO can be made as a thin film from an
aqueous dispersion of GO in water and has moderate conduc-
tivity, it is attractive for use in electronic devices.
Graphene is advantageous over CNTs since it can be pre-
pared from cheap and easily available oxidants by simple
oxidizing methods, which is more economical. Also, it has a
large specific surface area having potential to make space for
other nano-composite sites to enhance the adsorption capacity.
It is widely used in wastewater treatment for removing the
pollutants like F−, arsenate and arsenite, and chromate by the
adsorption phenomena. Reyes Bahena et al. [32] have stated
that the adsorption of fluoride by graphene follows specific
and/or non-specific adsorption. The results showed that spe-
cific adsorption involves ligand exchange reactions in which –
OH groups from the surface are replaced by anions through
ligand exchange reactions. The non-specific adsorption is
governed by electrostatic forces and pHPZC of the adsorbent
[33]. Li et al. [34] have adsorbed fluoride from aqueous solu-
tion by using graphene by employing the specific adsorption
process.
Graphene alone is not found to be much efficient in
adsorbing arsenate ions. Graphene-based nano-composites
necessitate to be developed for this purpose. In 2010,
Chandra et al. [35] have established that iron minerals are
effective media for adsorption of As(III) and As(V). These
iron-based adsorbents are yet not easy to be used in continu-
ous flow systems due to their small size and instability when
exposed to atmosphere [36]. Therefore, iron particles with
graphene composites are used to serve the purpose [37].
These composites have enhanced adsorption capacity and
are easy to separate from aqueous solution by eco-friendly
methods. In the recent years, Zhang et al. [38], Chandra
et al. [35], Wu et al. [39], Nandi et al. [40], and Sheng et al.
[41] have employed the iron nano-particles decorated on
graphene to remove As(III) and As(V) from aqueous solution.
The layered double hydroxides (LDHs) coupled with GO lead
to the formation of LDH/GO nano-composites, which have
been found to show an efficient removal of As(V) from aque-
ous solution [42].
Iron nano-particles are impregnated on graphene surface in
order to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions, as reported by
Jabeen et al. [43]. In 2012, Zhu et al. [44] have decorated a
core at double-shell structure of the nano-particles with crys-
talline Fe as the core, Fe2O3 as the inner shell, and amorphous
Si-S-O compound as the outer shell on reduced graphene ox-
ide to synthesize the magnetic graphene nano-composites
(MGNCs) using thermodecomposition process. This compos-
ite reveals an extremely fast Cr(VI) removal from the waste-
water with high removal efficacy, as was evident with greater
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
surface area occurred in MGNC composite. Ma et al. [45]
have prepared ethylenediamine-reduced graphene oxide
(ED-RGO) sheets by refluxing of GO solution with ED,
which effectively reduced toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic Cr(III).
An improved ED-DMF-RGO was prepared by refluxing GO
with ED using dimethyl formamide (DMF) as solvent [46].
Results revealed that ED-DMF-RGO composite could re-
move 75.6% of Cr(VI) in 15 min, which is much higher than
that of ED-RGO (59.4%). The removal capacity of the ED-
DMF-RGO composite is 92.15 mg g−1, which is about 27
times higher than that of AC (3.46 mg g−1) [47]. In 2013,
Wu et al. [48] have used cetyltrimethylammonium bromide
(CTAB) to modify graphene prepared using modified
Hummers’ method, which reveals that the adsorption process
of Cr(VI) was rapid within 5 min and reached equilibrium in
about 40 min.
Additionally, the cationic pollutants that are removed by
graphene are Pb(II), Hg(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), etc.
Huang et al. [49] have worked on graphene nano-sheets ob-
tained by vacuum-promoted, low-temperature exfoliation to
adsorb Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution. In 2012, Hao
et al. [50] have prepared SiO2-graphene composite and further
reduced to GO, which were used for the selective adsorption
of Pb(II). Chitosan (CS) is one of the most efficient adsorbents
for removing heavy metals from wastewater, as suggested by
Babel and Kurniawan [51]. But, its mechanical strength and
physical instability are not sufficient for its use [52]. He et al.
[53] have utilized unidirectional freeze-drying method to syn-
thesize porous GO coupled with CS, and their adsorptive be-
havior for Pb(II) metal ions were demonstrated. Fan et al. [54]
have used magnetic CS-GO for highly selective adsorption of
Pb(II) from large volumes of aqueous solution. Lee and Yang
[55] have employed a flower-like TiO2 decorated on GO to
form hybrid for the elimination of heavy metals. Madadrang
et al. [56] have demonstrated that the chelating groups are
coupled with GO surfaces by means of silanization reaction
between N-(trimethoxysilylpropyl) ethylenediamine triacetic
acid (EDTA-silane) and hydroxyl groups present on GO sur-
face. The results reveal that EDTA-GO was found to be an
ideal adsorbent for Pb(II) removal with a higher adsorption
capacity.
A novel polypyrrole-RGO composite was prepared by
Chandra and Kim [57] for highly selective adsorption of
Hg(II). The maximum adsorption capacities of polypyrrole
and polypyrrole-RGO composite were 400 and 980 mg g−1.
The composite elucidates greater adsorption capacity, which is
mainly due to larger availability of the adsorption sites as
provided by graphene sheets. Sreeprasad et al. [58] have de-
veloped immobilized RGO-based composites on river sand
using CS as the binder material, which was found to be effi-
cient for Hg(II) removal in field application. In 2010, Yang
et al. [59] have described that GO nano-sheets be able to be
aggregated by Cu(II) ions in aqueous solution showing huge
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
Cu(II) adsorption capacity, which is around 10 times of that of
active carbon.
To facilitate electrostatic interaction, low pH is preferred in
case of anionic pollutant removal from aqueous solution,
whereas high pH is preferred to remove cationic pollutants.
Anions are adsorbed on graphene through specific and/or non-
specific ways, whereas cationic adsorption follows electrostat-
ic interaction, ion exchange, and complex formation. The ad-
sorption process is spontaneous, endothermic, and feasible.
The regeneration of adsorbents are done by desorption agents
like hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution [60]. The adsorption
efficiency decreases with increasing number of cycles.
Moreover, the pHzpc of the adsorbent is very important to
know, at what pH the adsorption will be effective. For a par-
ticular adsorbent, pHzpc reveals the pH at which the material
has a net zero surface charge. When the pH drops below
pHzpc, the surface charge becomes positive. Similarly, at so-
lution pH above pHzpc, the surface is negatively charged.
Thus, for the removal of anionic pollutants, the pH of the
solution should be <pHzpc, and that for cationic pollutant, it
should be >pHzpc. At high pH, natural organic matter (NOM)
and phenolic compounds dissociate into anionic form. So at
high solution pH (exceeding the pHzpc of the adsorbent), the
adsorption of NOM and phenolic compounds decreases.
The graphene-based nano-composites are advantageous
over the other nano-materials because of the availability of
individual adsorption sites, possibility to induce porosity to
the ultrahigh specific surface of graphene in order to have
increased adsorption capacity, ability of the solution pH not
only to affect the surface charge of the adsorbent but also to
control the degree of ionization and speciation of the adsor-
bate, and lastly due to short contact time required to attain
adsorption equilibrium between the graphene-based nano-
composites and adsorbates. There are three possible sites for
the adsorption of pollutants on graphene viz. oxygen function-
al groups, C π electrons, and active sites on the outer surface
of decorated nano-particles on graphene sheet [60]. One en-
couraging factor for graphene during nano-composite prepa-
ration is that even a small amount of the nano-filter can sig-
nificantly improve its properties.
Most of the applications described above are in the labora-
tory scale and performed through batch experiments.
Continuous flow systems and field applications are real chal-
lenges to be solved. Besides this, scaling up of these technol-
ogies for industrial wastewater treatment also remains a major
goal to commercialize the method for water purification.
Metal-Based Nano-Materials
Metal oxides as nano-materials are widely used nowadays for
wastewater treatment because of their small size, large surface
area/volume ratio, magnetic properties, and biocompatibility
21
[61]. The metal-based nanoparticles widely in use for waste-
water treatment in industries as well as in successful laborato-
ry experiments are MnO2, Mn3O4, Fe2O3, TiO2, ZnO, SnO2,
Pt, Au, Ag, bimetallics etc.
Manganese Oxide Nano-Particles In 2004, Lenoble et al.
[62] have synthesized a polystyrene matrix loaded with
MnO2, aided with a commercial anionic resin in chloride
which proved to be efficient in arsenic removal from water.
The removal efficacy of both As(III) and As(V) remained
same under near natural conditions. Chen and He [63] have
reported that the phase structure was transformed from lay-
ered MnO2 to tetragonal hausmannite by treating with their
precursor (mixture of KMnO4 solution and oleic acid),
which showed better adsorption capacity of organic pollut-
ants (methylene blue) than other synthesized MnO2 mate-
rials and was independent of the surface area. Zhao et al.
[64] have performed experiments to show redox reactions
between GO nano-sheets and KMnO4, which would result
in the formation of few-layer MnO2 nano-sheets due to in
situ replacement of carbon framework by edge-sharing
[MnO6] octahedra. It is also revealed that MnO2 nano-
sheets illustrate high activity for the oxidative degradation
of methylene blue dye, in which the dye can be
decomposed into small molecular fragments through fast
demethylation, followed by aromatic ring cracking, and
partial mineralization into inorganic ions in a short dura-
tion. They anticipated that these few-layer MnO2 nano-
sheets may be predicted as a non-toxic material for the
treatment of organic dye carrying wastewater. Peng and
Ichinose [65] have synthesized ultrathin MnOOH nano-
fibers on a large scale from Mn(NO3)2 aqueous solution
at room temperature, which were then converted into
Mn3O4 and MnO2 nano-fibers by post-heat treatment at
400 and 600 °C for 1 h, respectively. These nano-fibers
were engaged in bundles having diameter 25 nm and com-
posed of 3–5-nm fine crystalline nano-fibers. The Mn3O4
nano-fibers had a specific surface area of 71 m2 g−1 and
demonstrated high catalytic degradation of the organic pol-
lutant, namely, of methylene blue under the aid of H2O2 at
room temperature. Yang et al. [66] also showed that man-
ganese oxide nano-rods have catalytic effect on the oxida-
tion and decomposition of methylene blue dye with H2O2.
Mn3O4 nano-particles were synthesized by forced hydro-
lysis of Mn(II) acetate at 80 °C, which is coupled with an
acidic solution of aniline, and, finally, capitulating the
green sediment of polyaniline, as observed by
Chowdhury et al. [67]. They explored that the organic dyes
like methylene blue and procion red gets completely de-
colorized when treated with the solution of Mn3O4 in acid-
ic media. They also found out that these nano-particles
showed antibacterial activity against Vibrio cholerae,
Shigella sp., Salmonella sp., and E. coli bacteria that cause
22
cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and diarrhea disease, respec-
tively. Zhang et al. [68] have applied poly(vinylpyrrolidone)
(PVP) or poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) (P123)
as the templates for MnO2 nanaocrystals for which large-scale
agglomeration took place resulting in the loss in natural octa-
hedral morphology and converting them into quasi-spherical
shape, which showed to be an efficient catalyst for oxidation
of methylene blue. Zhang et al. [69] obtained single-phase
Mn3O4 nano-particles from pulsed laser ablation in liquid
which showed rapid removal of trace pentachlorophenol in
aqueous solution. Li et al. [70] have demonstrated that
monodispersed Mn3O4 nano-particles having diameter of
about 10 nm are efficient in catalytic activity for the oxidation
of hydrocarbons with molecular oxygen under solvent and
additive-free conditions. In 2008, Li et al. [71] have investi-
gated the oxidative degradation of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole
by β-MnO2 in aqueous solution which required activation
energy of 5.62 kJ mol−1. Saha and Pal [72] have synthesized
a porous assembly of MnO2 nano-sheets via simple redox co-
precipitation method using two precursors, namely,
Mn(OAc)2 and KMnO4, and used them for the degradation
of malachite green dye. Results showed that 99% decoloriza-
tion and nearly 44% mineralization were achieved under the
conditions (contact time = 120 min, dye
concentration = 50 mg L−1, and MnO2 dosage = 0.5 g L−1).
During the oxidative degradation, slight leaching of Mn(II) is
observed. Mahamallik et al. [73] have reported that highly
porous MnO2 nano-sheets were synthesized from MnCl2
and KMnO4 following modified co-precipitation route and
used them for oxidative degradation of widely used antibiotic
tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). At lower pH, degradation
was found to be more favored and some Mn(II) were leached
out during oxidative degradation. About 55% TCH degrada-
tion and nearly 44% COD removal were observed on 20-min
reaction, under the unbuffered condition and at initial pH ~4
having TCH concentration of 50 mg L−1and 1 g L−1 of MnO2
dose. The degradation was enhanced up to 75% under the
controlled pH ~3.48. They further degraded the pharmaceuti-
cal products (hostacycline and terramycine, which belong to
the TC group of antibiotics) by employing MnO2 nano-sheet
assembly. Ede et al. [74] have synthesized flake- and wire-like
β-MnO2 nano-materials, which revealed pronounced catalytic
activity in organic catalysis reaction for the spontaneous po-
lymerization of aniline hydrochloride to emeraldine salt
(polyaniline) at room temperature, which is used as an elec-
trode material in electrochemical supercapacitor applications.
They concluded that the flake-like MnO2 nano-structure pos-
sessed an excellent long-term stability scenario than the other.
Iron-Based Nano-Particles The exploitation of zero-valent
iron (ZVI or Fe0) for in situ remedial treatment has been
prolonged for different kinds of contaminants [75]. The ZVI
removes aqueous contaminants either by reductive
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
dechlorination, which takes place in the chlorinated solvents,
or by reducing to an insoluble form in the case of aqueous
metal ions. In addition, iron undergoes redox reactions with
dissolved oxygen and water, as expressed below.
2Fe0 ðsÞ þ O2ðgÞ þ 2H 2 O ¼ 2Fe2þ ðaqÞ þ 4OH − ðaqÞ
Fe0 ðsÞ þ 2H 2 O ¼ Fe2þ ðaqÞ þ H 2ðgÞ þ 2OH − ðaqÞ
Supported ZVI nano-particles, namely, of ferragels, having
the diameter of 10–30 nm, were used for separation and im-
mobilization of Cr(VI) and Pb(II) from aqueous solution by
reducing the chromium to Cr(III) and the lead to Pb(0). In
another study, nano-powder of ZVI (<100 nm, with the spe-
cific surface area of 35 m2 g−1) was used for the reduction and
immobilization of Cr (VI) [76]. Nano-scale ZVI was
employed by Lowry et al. [77] for dechlorination of
polychlorinated biphenyl to lower-chlorinated products under
ambient conditions. More recently, Feitz et al. [78] have in-
vestigated the oxidization of herbicide molinate by nano-
scaled ZVI, when it is used in the presence of oxygen.
Quinn et al. [79] have performed the field-scale experiments
to evaluate the performance of nano-scale emulsified ZVI
injected into the saturated zone to improve in situ
dehalogenation of dense, non-aqueous phase liquids contain-
ing trichloroethene from groundwater and soil. Lindane (γ-
hexachlorocyclohexane) is one of the persistent organic pol-
lutants in the drinking water. Paknikar et al. [80] have pre-
pared FeS nano-particles by the wet chemical method and
stabilized using a polymer from basidiomycetous fungus,
namely, Itajahia sp., and they were employed for the degra-
dation of lindane (concentration of 5 mg L−1) from water. One
of the applications of ZVI is the removal and sorption of
arsenic contamination from water, groundwater, and soil, as
studied by Kanel et al. [81]. However, nano-powder of ZVI
appears as fine powder which cannot be used in fixed-bed
columns unless they have granular shape [82, 83]. Xu and
Zhao [84] have worked on carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC)
to stabilize the ZVI nano-particles for in situ reductive immo-
bilization of Cr (VI) in both aqueous and soil media through
batch and continuous flow column study. They found that the
stabilized ZVI nano-particle behaves more efficiently com-
pared to non-stabilized form for Cr(VI) remediation. In the
batch experiments, the reduction of Cr(VI) was improved
from 24 to 90% as the dosage of ZVI increased from 0.04 to
0.12 g L−1 [84]. In another work, Xiong et al. [85] have stud-
ied the degradation of perchlorate in water and ion-exchange
brine. They used CMC-stabilized ZVI nano-particles and
were also compared with CMC-stabilized Fe(0), non-
stabilized Fe(0), and CMC-stabilized Fe-metal catalysts (such
as Fe-Pd catalyst) for the reduction of perchlorate. The results
showed that the stabilized ZVI nano-particle is more profi-
cient than the others for perchlorate reduction. The results also
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
illustrated that the stabilized ZVI nano-particles could increase
perchlorate reduction rate by 53% in saline water (due to the
presence of high concentration of NaCl up to 6% w/w).
Titanium Dioxide Nano-Particles Titanium dioxide (TiO2)
is one of the popular materials used in various applications
because of its semiconducting, photocatalytic, energy-
converting, electronic, and gas-sensing properties. The
most affecting properties of semiconducting nano-
particles are distinguished changes in their optical proper-
ties compared to those of bulk materials. In addition, there
is a significant shift in optical absorption spectra toward
the blue shift (shorter wavelengths) as the particle size is
reduced [86]. Stathatos et al. [87] have adopted reverse
micelle technique to produce TiO2 nano-particles and de-
posited them as thin films. They deposited TiO2 mesopo-
rous films on glass slides by dip-coating in reverse micellar
gels containing titanium isopropoxide. The films exhibited
high adsorption capacities for the removal of different dyes
either from the aqueous or alcoholic solutions. It had also a
rapid degradation of the adsorbed dyes when the colored
films were experienced at the visible light. Phenol is one of
the toxic materials found in municipal wastewater.
Synthesized TiO2 nano-particles in both anatase and rutile
forms were used for wet oxidation of phenols by hydro-
thermal treatment of microemulsions and their photocata-
lytic activity [88]. Such treatment has the advantage that the
size of particles is affected by the ratio of surfactant to water.
The size of water droplets in the reverse microemulsions is
found to be almost the same as that of formed particles.
Asilturk et al. [89] have examined the behavior of anatase
nano-TiO2 in catalytic decomposition of rhodamine B dye.
Rhodamine B was fully decomposed with the catalytic action
of nano-TiO2 in a short time of 60 min. It was found that the
nano-TiO2 could be repeatedly used with increase in the pho-
tocatalytic activity. In the study of Li et al. [90], carbon grain
coated with activated nano-TiO2 having dimension of 20–
40 nm to prepare the TiO2-AC hybrid was used for the pho-
tocatalytic oxidative degradation of methyl orange dyestuff in
aqueous solution under UV irradiation. The benefit of using
activated carbon is that the adsorbent provides a high-
concentration environment of target organic substances
around the loaded TiO2 particles by adsorption. As a re-
sult, the rate of photooxidation was enhanced. The organ-
ic substances were oxidized on the photocatalyst surfaces
by means of adsorption states. The resulting toxic inter-
mediates are also adsorbed and oxidized at the later stage.
These intermediates are not exposed in the air atmosphere
to cause secondary pollution. Since the adsorbed sub-
stances are finally oxidized to give CO2, the high adsorp-
tion ability of the hybrid photocatalysts for organic sub-
stances is maintained for a long time. The amount of TiO2
as catalysts plays significant role on the photoefficiency
23
of hybrid catalysts. Mahmoodi et al. [91] have studied the
effect of immobilized TiO2 nano-particles on the removal
of butachlor (N-butoxymethyl-2-chloro-2,6-
diethylacetanilide), which is one of the organic pollutants
occurring in agricultural soil and wastewater. They also
concluded that the aforesaid method could be used for the
degradation of other chloroacetanilide herbicides, namely,
butenchlor, diethatyl, pretilachlor, metolachlor, acetochlor,
delachlor, dimethchlor, propisochlor, and propachlor, that
include very similar chemical structures with butachlor.
Dai et al. [92] have examined the removal of methyl or-
ange in aqueous suspension containing titania nano-
particles with mesostructures of TiO2 under UV irradia-
tion. Sobana et al. [93] have prepared Ag nano-particles
doped on TiO2 and used them for the photodegradation of
direct azo dyes such as direct red 23 and direct blue 53.
The noble metals such as Ag (or Pt, Au, etc.) could act as
electron traps, since they are able to facilitate electron-hole
separation and, as mentioned earlier, prevention of
electron-hole recombination is useful and leads to higher
efficiency of photodegradation. The optimum dosage of
A g , w h i c h do p ed o n Ti O2 an d e nh a nc e d t h e
photodegradation of dyes, was 1.5%. Degradation of nitro-
benzene by using nano-TiO2 and ozone were reported by
Yang et al. [94]. They compared the effect of nano-TiO2-
catalyzed reaction coupled with ozone and ozone only and
confirmed that the catalyzed ozonation acts more efficient-
ly than ozone alone. Yan et al. [95] have reported that
titanate nano-tubes and leaf-like anatase TiO 2 nano-
particles were utilized to synthesize the nano-composites
through hydrothermal method for the photocatalytic decol-
orization of rhodamine B under the illumination of visible
light. Senthilnatan and Philip [96] have studied the degra-
dation of lindane, an organochlorine pesticide, under visi-
ble l ight with different nitrogen-doped TiO2
photocatalysts. Ag-TiO2 photocatalyst, hydrothermally syn-
thesized with template-assisted methods, effectively degraded
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (known herbicide) under vis-
ible light [97]. Yu et al. [98] have described the disinfection of
gram-positive bacterium Micrococcus lylae by sulfur-doped
TiO2 exposed to 100-W tungsten halogen lamp fitted with a
glass filter that prevent light with wavelength less than
420 nm. Mitoraj et al. [99] have showed that visible light
induced photocatalytic inactivation of a range of organisms
like E. coli, S. aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Candida
albicans, and Aspergillus niger using carbon-doped TiO2
and TiO2 modified with platinum (IV) chloride complexes.
The observed detrimental effect of photocatalysts on various
microorganism groups reduces in the order of
E. coli > S. aureus ≈ E. faecalis ≫ C. albicans ≈ A. niger. A
palladium-modified, nitrogen-doped TiO2 photocatalytic fiber
was employed for the disinfection of coliphage MS2 up to
99.75–99.94%, as explored by Li et al. [100]. Wu et al.
24
[101] have produced TiO2 nano-particles co-doped with N
and Ag and investigated its efficiency to degrade E. coli under
visible light irradiation. Saha et al. [102] have studied that Ag
nano-particles were impregnated on commercial TiO2 to
bleach about 25 mg L−1 of malachite green under 1 h of light
irradiation. Sahoo et al. [103] have investigated that the crystal
violet dye degraded photocatalytically under UV radiation
using both untreated TiO2 and Ag(I) ion-doped TiO2. The
degradation (of dye having concentration of 20 mg L−1) was
>97% under UV illumination for 105 min with TiO2 and
>99% with doped TiO2. Similarly, methyl red was degraded
photocatalytically under UV radiation using both untreated
TiO2 and Ag(I) ion-doped TiO2, as done by Sahoo et al.
[104]. The aqueous solution of the dye with concentration of
20 mg L−1 undergoes UV radiation for 45 min, resulting >85%
of degradation by means of TiO2, whereas it degraded by
>99% with Ag(I) ion-doped TiO2. The dye degraded by
>90% on illumination by a simulated solar light source for
10 h with the Ag(I) ion-doped TiO2 and mineralized by
>83% with the same doped material within 1 h.
Furthermore, the degradation of the mixture of crystal violet
and methyl red dyes in various proportions (v/v 1:1, 1:5, 1:10)
by using TiO2 and Ag(I) ion-doped TiO2 was carried out
[105]. The mixtures were degraded by >99% on UV irradia-
tion for 90 min in the presence of Ag(I) ion-doped TiO2 and
about 70% under similar conditions in presence of TiO2. Also,
above 86% mineralization was observed using 90-min
irradiation.
Zinc Oxide Nano-Particles ZnO is a wide band gap semi-
conductor with large exciton-binding energy of 60 meV at
room temperature [106, 107]. The electrical, optical, and
magnetic properties of ZnO can be altered or improved by
the exercise of ZnO in nano-scales, as suggested by
Shrama et al. [108] and Schmidt-Mende and MacManus-
Driscoll [109]. ZnO is an environmental-friendly material
as it is compatible with living organisms, which lend itself
nicely to a broad range of daily applications that will not
leave any risks to human health, and environmental im-
pacts [109]. The ZnO possessed the band gap energy of
3.37 eV [109]. So, its photocatalytic ability is anticipated
to be similar to that of TiO2 (which is having the band gap
energy of 3.2 eV). Moreover, ZnO is relatively cheaper
compared to TiO2, whereby the usage of TiO2 is uneco-
nomic for large-scale water treatment operations [110].
The greatest advantage of ZnO is the capability to absorb
a wide range of solar spectrum and more light quanta than
some semiconducting metal oxides [111]. The major
drawbacks of ZnO are the wide band gap energy and
photocorrosion. The light absorption of ZnO is limited in
the visible light region which is due to its wide band gap
energy. This results in fast recombination of photogenerated
charges and thus caused low photocatalytic efficiency [112].
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
Phenols, persistent organic pollutants, and dyes are found to
be removed from water with the help of ZnO nano-particles by
different researchers. The photoinstability and photocorrosion
of ZnO in aqueous solution under UV irradiation hinder its
usage as an efficient photocatalyst in wastewater treatment.
The photocorrosion occurs in four steps as follows [113]:
O2− surface þ pþ ¼ O− surface


O− surface þ 3O2− þ 3pþ ¼ 2 O−O2−


O−O2− þ 2pþ ¼ O2 2Zn2þ ¼ 2Zn2þ ðaqÞ
The overall reaction of photocorrosion of ZnO is shown
below.
ZnO þ 2pþ ¼ Zn2þ þ ð1=2Þ O2
It can be seen that the reaction between the positively
charged holes and the surface oxygen of ZnO is the key
feature for the dissolution of ZnO. In addition, the vacant
sites on the ZnO surface also lead to photocorrosion of
ZnO [114, 115]. Some previous studies have reported
that the photocatalytic activity of ZnO can be utilized
up to few cycles without any loss in activity [116,
117]. On the contrary, the photodegradation efficiency
reduced significantly under photocorrosion as noted by
Li et al. [118], Xiao [119], and Chen et al. [120]. A
number of studies have been conducted to overcome
photocorrosion of ZnO using surface modification with
a layer of polyaniline [121, 122], graphitic carbon [123],
fullerene [124], and reduced graphene oxide [125]. The
formation of a passive layer on the ZnO surface, which
is less photoactive, can suppress the photocorrosion rate
[126, 127].
Silver Nano-Particles Silver nano-particles have proved to
be the most effective because of its good antimicrobial
efficacy against bacteria, viruses, and other eukaryotic
microorganisms [128, 129]. Some earlier observations
have reported the successful biosynthesis of silver nano-
particles by plants such as lemongrass leaf (Cymbopogon
flexuosus) [130], Jatropha curcas [131], and Cycas leaf
[132]. Recently, an easy and simple method was devel-
oped by Anand and Mandal [133] for the synthesis of
spherical silver nano-particles using Terminalia bellirica
having yield of about 94.2% under ambient temperature,
and identification of secondary metabolites in fruit extract
was accomplished with the help of high-performance liq-
uid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. From FTIR and
HPLC studies, it was confirmed that the extract was
multi-functional, which acted as both antibacterial as well
as antioxidant agent. These spherical-shaped nano-parti-
cles showed good antimicrobial activity against both
gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli)
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
bacteria and also revealed good antioxidant activity com-
pared to ascorbic acid as standard antioxidant by using
standard 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) method
[133]. The aqueous beetroot extract was used as reducing
agent for silver nano-particle synthesis (average size
15 nm) by Bindhu and Umadevi [134]. These particles
were effective in inhibiting the growth of both gram-
positive and gram-negative bacteria and showed faster
catalytic activity. This natural method for synthesis of
silver nano-particles offered an important contribution in
the field of green synthesis and nano-technology by
avoiding the presence of hazardous and toxic solvents
and waste.
Kundu et al. [135] developed a new spectrophotometric
method to determine the arsenic concentration via arsine
generation by the help of color bleaching of methylene
blue dye in anionic micellar medium of sodium dodecyl
sulfate. Arsine gas is formed by the borohydride reduction
of arsenite/arsenate resulting in the bleaching of methy-
lene blue, whose rate can be enhanced by introducing
silver or gold nano-particles in the system. It is due to
the fact that the reductant releases an electron to the sur-
face of the metal particle from where methylene blue
gains an electron and is reduced. It has also been found
that silver nano-particles acted as better catalytic activity
than gold nano-particles.
Bimetallic Nano-Particles Studies have found out that
when two or more metals are doped or impregnated on
each other, the efficiency to oxidize, degrade, or elimi-
nate the pollutants from aqueous solution become more
easy and efficient. For example, recent studies found out
that palladized iron particles can completely dechlorinate
many chlorinated aliphatic compounds to hydrocarbons
[136]. In some studies, synthesized nano-scale iron and
palladized iron particles are used for degradation of chlo-
rinated compounds like trichloroethene [136] and
tetrachloroethene [137]. Feng and Lim [138] have syn-
thesized the nano-scale Fe and Fe-Ni particles and ap-
plied it for rapid degradation of organic compounds. This
metallic catalyst could prevent formation of toxic by-
products by dehalogenation of chlorinated compounds
through hydrogen reduction rather than electron transfer.
Many researchers have focused on the synthesis of Ni-Fe
nano-particles for the reduction of chlorinated com-
pounds like tricholoroethene [139] and carbon tetrachlo-
ride [138]. The deposition of small amounts of a second
metal, such as Pd, Pt, Ag, Ni, and Cu, on iron has been
shown to speed up the reaction rate, as illustrated by
Liou et al. [140]. When iron is deposited with the second
metal, a relative potential difference impels the electron
from iron to that metal. Nutt et al. [141] have synthe-
sized Pd supported on gold nano-particles. They found
25
that these catalysts were considerably more active than
Pd nano-particles. Joo and Zhao [142] have prepared Fe-
Pd bimetallic with 0.2% w/w of CMC as a stabilizer and
used them for the degradation of the chlorinated herbi-
cides like lindane and atrazine.
Other Potential Nano-Materials
Apart from the nano-materials discussed above and their
applications, there are membrane processes and polymer
technology that are widely used as a part of nano-
technology in water purification and wastewater treat-
ment. Gehrke et al. [143] have elaborated the applica-
tion of nano-filtration membranes, nano-composite mem-
branes, self-assembling membranes, nano-fiber mem-
branes, and aquaporin-based membranes for the treat-
ment of water. Qu et al. [144] has also explained the
processes by which nano-fiber membranes, nano-
composite membranes, thin film nano-composite (TFN)
membranes, and biological-inspired membranes are used
to treat water and wastewater. Qu et al. [144] has also
pondered on polymeric nano-adsorbents or dendrimers,
which are capable of removing both organics and heavy
metals from aqueous solution. The detailed discussion
about the different applications of nano-membranes and
polymer-based nano-particles in water and wastewater
treatment is beyond the scope of this review article.
The detailed scheme of the nano-materials developed for
the various processes in the wastewater treatment are shown in
Fig. 1.
Regeneration and Reuse Ability
The economics of the nano-material depends on its abil-
ity of regeneration and reuse. For carbon-based nano-
materials, desorption may be achieved easily by manip-
ulating the solution pH. In the case of metal recovery,
the rate is usually above 90%, and sometimes, it can
even go up to 100% at pH <2 [145, 146]. Lu et al.
[147] showed that CNTs can be regenerated and reused
up to several hundred times for Zn 2+ removal while
maintaining reasonable adsorption capacity. In many
cases, even after several regeneration and reuse cycles,
the adsorption capacity of metal oxide nano-adsorbents is
well maintained [148]. However, in some cases, reduced
adsorption capacity may also be observed [149]. The
high adsorption capacity, low cost, easy separation, and
regeneration ability possessed by metal-based nano-ad-
sorbents make them technologically and economically
advantageous over the others.
26
Fig. 1 Recent developments in nano-materials employed in the wastewater treatment
Concluding Remarks and Future Prospects
In today’s world, clean potable water is of great need,
taking into account the depletion of groundwater and the
polluted surface water due to the presence of hazardous
pollutants. The wastewater, if treated properly, can be
reused for household, irrigation, or industrial purposes
by minimizing the freshwater requirements. The wastewa-
ter treatments are in vogue, which are capable to control
the organic and inorganic pollutants, although they are
energy intensive and uneconomical because of non-
reusable membranes and filters, inability to completely
purify water, etc. Here comes the requirement to incorpo-
rate nano-technology in the conventional wastewater
treatment methods.
Nano-technology focuses on improving the existing
methods by enhancing the efficacy toward pollutant reme-
diation due to their high reaction rate and enabling the
reusability of nano-materials, which leads to minimize
the project funds. Most of them are well suited with
existing treatment technologies and can be integrated sim-
ply in the treatment modules. However, there are certain
limitations in the employment of nano-particles for waste-
water treatments like other alternatives. Many key issues
still remain as hurdles before implementation and
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
commercialization of nano-technology to treat wastewa-
ter. The ability to synthesize cost-effective nano-materials
and their availability on industrial scale are the determin-
ing factors whether the nano-technology method can be
applied on a huge scale. The risk potential associated with
nano-technology in wastewater treatment is the accumu-
lation and deposition over a long period of time. Future
studies need to be done under more realistic condition to
judge the efficiency and to assess the effect of nano-
particles over long duration in a reactor. The economy
should also be taken into account while addressing other
issues. There are two ways to solve the economy issue,
one by using low-purity nano-materials without signifi-
cantly compromising efficiency and another by reusing
and retaining the nano-materials. Although many nano-
technologies and the corresponding nano-materials are ad-
dressed in this review article, many of them are yet to be
tested in pilot plants and are still being used in laborato-
ries only. Another limitation for nano-particle application
is their potential human risk. In order to overcome these
limitations, there should be active collaboration between
research laboratories, industries, and government sectors.
Through working together only, Bnano-technology^ will
prove its potential as an easy, user-friendly, and revolu-
tionary approach for wastewater treatment.
Curr Pollution Rep (2017) 3:17–30
Acknowledgment The authors are thankful to IIT Kharagpur for pro-
viding the instrumental facility and financial support.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of Interest The authors have declared that there is no conflict
of interest regarding the publication of the manuscript.
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