Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 May 17;12(10):1707.
doi: 10.3390/nano12101707.

Natural Polymers and Their Nanocomposites Used for Environmental Applications

Ecaterina Matei  1 , Andra Mihaela Predescu  1 , Maria Râpă  1 , Anca Andreea Țurcanu  1 , Ileana Mateș  1 , Nicolae Constantin  1 , Cristian Predescu  1
Affiliations
Review

Natural Polymers and Their Nanocomposites Used for Environmental Applications

Ecaterina Matei et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

The aim of this review is to bring together the main natural polymer applications for environmental remediation, as a class of nexus materials with advanced properties that offer the opportunity of integration in single or simultaneous decontamination processes. By identifying the main natural polymers derived from agro-industrial sources or monomers converted by biotechnology into sustainable polymers, the paper offers the main performances identified in the literature for: (i) the treatment of water contaminated with heavy metals and emerging pollutants such as dyes and organics, (ii) the decontamination and remediation of soils, and (iii) the reduction in the number of suspended solids of a particulate matter (PM) type in the atmosphere. Because nanotechnology offers new horizons in materials science, nanocomposite tunable polymers are also studied and presented as promising materials in the context of developing sustainable and integrated products in society to ensure quality of life. As a class of future smart materials, the natural polymers and their nanocomposites are obtained from renewable resources, which are inexpensive materials with high surface area, porosity, and high adsorption properties due to their various functional groups. The information gathered in this review paper is based on the publications in the field from the last two decades. The future perspectives of these fascinating materials should take into account the scale-up, the toxicity of nanoparticles, and the competition with food production, as well as the environmental regulations.

Keywords: PM; heavy metals; nanocomposites; polymers; soil remediation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Natural polymers and nanocomposites for environmental applications.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Eco-friendly approach of chitosan/silver nanocomposite used for dye removal for potable water. “Reprinted with permission from [66]. Copyright 2022, Elsevier”.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The performance of MOFs for air filtering media [9].
Figure 4
Figure 4
The mechanism diagram of Cd adsorption onto MgO-BCR-W [84].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Four major types of particle filtration mechanisms: impaction, interception, diffusion, and electrostatic attraction [196].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Example of green electrospinning process combined with UV treatment [178]. Fabrication process for antibacterial and hierarchical CS-PVA nanofibrous membranes by combination of (a) electrospinning, one step UV reduction and cured. (b) Filtration process of the CS-PVA@SiO2 NPs-Ag NPs air filtration membranes. (c) The chemical structure of CS/ PVA/TEGDMA/1173.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Barba A.A., Dalmoro A., d’Amore M., Lamberti G., Cascone S., Titomanlio G. Polymers in life sciences: Pharmaceutical and biomedical applications; Proceedings of the Second Icranet Cesar Lattes Meeting: Supernovae, Neutron Stars and Black Holes; Fortaleza, Brazil. 13–22 April 2015; College Park, MD, USA: AIP Conference Proceedings; 2015. p. 020051.
    1. Dwivedi P., Narvi S.S., Tewari R.P. Application of polymer nanocomposites in the nanomedicine landscape: Envisaging strategies to combat implant associated infections. J. Appl. Biomater. Funct. Mater. 2013;11:129–142. doi: 10.5301/JABFM.2013.11544. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gross R.A., Kalra B. Biodegradable polymers for the environment. Science. 2002;297:803–807. doi: 10.1126/science.297.5582.803. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Acquavia M.A., Pascale R., Martelli G., Bondoni M., Bianco G. Natural polymeric materials: A solution to plastic pollution from the agro-food sector. Polymers. 2021;13:158. doi: 10.3390/polym13010158. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benkeblia N. Polysaccharides: Natural Fibers in Food and Nutrition. CRC Press; Boca Raton, FL, USA: 2014.