ENGINEERED NANOTECHNOLOGY – ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM OR SOLUTION?


When I first saw the title “Future Perspectives on Environmental Nano Technology” for a one day symposium at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in London I was intrigued to find out more. The “all things nano will change the world” scenario of several years ago was quickly followed by the health and environmental scares, so what was the current situation?


In its 2014 Strategic plan (1) the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) stated: “Nanotechnology—the science of the very small—is a relatively young field, ripe for new discoveries and understanding. But nanotechnology is already changing the world. Nanotechnology underpin a wide variety of applications and products on the market today, including electronic circuitry, displays, sensors, battery technology, disease therapeutics, and wear-resistant coatings”. However, it also stated “In recent years there has been growing activity in environmental, health, and


safety research; cooperation among regulatory agencies; and commercialisation and advanced manufacturing at the nanoscale” and featured nanotechnology product lifecycle schematic showing points for Environmental, Health and Safety evaluation and risk assessments (Figure 1)


So, I was interested to find out whether this symposium, organised by the RSC Journal Environmental Science:Nano and the RSC‘s Environmental Chemistry Interest Group, would focus on health, safety and environmental concerns or on environmental


applications of engineered nanotechnology. The symposium was organised to coincide with the meeting of the international editorial board of the journal and so many of the presentations were given by its members, who are all recognised experts in the field of environmental nanotechnology, and in this article, we summarise some of the key presentations from the day.


A Reminder: What is Nanotechnology?


Nanotechnology—the science of the very small—is a relatively young field, ripe for new discoveries and understanding.


“Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometres (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modelling, and manipulating matter at this length scale. A nanometre is one-billionth of a meter. A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometres thick; a single gold atom is about a third of a nanometre in diameter. Dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nm are known as the nanoscale. Unusual physical, chemical, and biological properties can emerge in materials at the nanoscale. These properties may differ in important ways from the properties of bulk materials and single atoms or molecules.” (1) This definition was established by the US NNI at its inception in 2001 for identifying and coordinating nanotechnology research and development as well as for facilitating communication and has largely been adopted globally.


Figure 1: US National Nanotechnology Initiative Product Lifecycle showing points for Environmental, Health and Safety evaluation and risk assessments (www.nano.gov) IET November / December 2018 www.envirotech-online.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108