One of the most pervasive problems afflicting people throughout the world is inadequate access to clean water and sanitation. Problems with water are expected to grow worse in the coming decades, with water scarcity occurring globally, even in regions currently considered water-rich. Addressing these problems calls out for a tremendous amount of research to be conducted to identify robust new methods of purifying water at lower cost and with less energy, while at the same time minimizing the use of chemicals and impact on the environment. Here we highlight some of the science and technology being developed to improve the disinfection and decontamination of water, as well as efforts to increase water supplies through the safe re-use of wastewater and efficient desalination of sea and brackish water.

Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades

Applications of nanotechnology in water and wastewater treatment

The unique and tunable properties of carbon-based nanomaterials enable new technologies for identifying and addressing environmental challenges. This review critically assesses the contributions of carbon-based nanomaterials to a broad range of environmental applications: sorbents, high-flux membranes, depth filters, antimicrobial agents, environmental sensors, renewable energy technologies, and pollution prevention strategies. In linking technological advance back to the physical, chemical, and electronic properties of carbonaceous nanomaterials, this article also outlines future opportunities for nanomaterial application in environmental systems.

Environmental applications of carbon-based nanomaterials.

2.3. Ionic Liquids (ILs) 5374 2.4. Complexation Reactions on Oxidized CNTs 5375 2.5. Halogenation 5376 2.6. Cycloaddition Reactions 5377 2.7. Radical Additions 5379 2.8. Nucleophilic Additions 5381 2.9. Electrophilic Additions 5381 2.10. Electrochemical Modifications 5381 2.11. Plasma-Activation 5381 2.12. Mechanochemical Functionalizations 5382 3. Noncovalent Interactions 5382 3.1. Polynuclear Aromatic Compounds 5382 3.2. Interactions with Other Substances 5384 3.3. Interactions with Biomolecules 5385 4. Endohedral Filling 5386 4.1. Encapsulation of Fullerenes 5386 4.2. Encapsulation of Organic Substances 5387 4.3. Encapsulation of Inorganic Substances 5387 5. Decoration of CNTs with Metal Nanoparticles 5388 5.1. Covalent Linkage 5388 5.2. Direct Formation on Defect Sites 5388 5.3. Electroless Deposition 5388 5.4. Electrodeposition 5389 5.5. Chemical Decoration 5390 5.6. Deposition of Nanoparticles onto CNTs 5391 5.7. π-π Stacking and Electrostatic Interactions 5391 6. Concluding Remarks 5392 7. Acknowledgments 5392 8. References 5392

Current progress on the chemical modification of carbon nanotubes.

This letter demonstrates that a novel, highly efficient enzyme electrode can be directly obtained using covalent attachment between carboxyl acid groups of graphene oxide sheets and amines of glucose oxidase. The resulting biosensor exhibits a broad linear range up to 28 mM·mm−2 glucose with a sensitivity of 8.045 mA·cm−2·M−1. The glucose oxidase-immobilized graphene oxide electrode also shows a reproducibility and a good storage stability, suggesting potentials for a wide range of practical applications. The biocompatibility of as-synthesized graphene oxide nanosheets with human cells, especially retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, was investigated for the first time in the present work. Microporous graphene oxide exhibits good biocompatibility and has potential advantages with respect to cell attachment and proliferation, leading to opportunities for using graphene-based biosensors for the clinical diagnosis.

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Biocompatible graphene oxide-based glucose biosensors.

Synthetic nanopore membranes can be used to mimic ion channels provided that molecular transport through membranes is precisely gated with selective and reversible chemical interactions. Aligned nanotubes of carbon or other inorganic materials can be assembled to construct higher-order supramolecular architectures using polymer films to force chemical flux through hollow cores. Open tips of carbon nanotubes (CNT) can be activated to have carboxylic groups, which can be easily derivatized with a molecule that binds to a bulky receptor that can open/close the pore entrance. In particular, the core entrances of an aligned CNT membrane were functionalized with a desthiobiotin derivative that binds reversibly to streptavidin, thereby enabling a reversible closing/opening of the core entrance. Ionic flux through the CNT membrane was monitored using optically absorbing charged marker molecules. The flux is reduced by a factor of 24 when the desthiobiotin on the CNT is coordinated with streptavidin; release of st...

Reversible Biochemical Switching of Ionic Transport through Aligned Carbon Nanotube Membranes

Membranes based on an array of aligned carbon nanotubes were used to mimic biological protein channels by functionalizing the open tips of the nanotubes with a synthetic peptide to obtain a biomimetic system where phosphorylation regulates the flow.

Pramod Nednoor

Papers

Reversible Biochemical Switching of Ionic Transport through Aligned Carbon Nanotube Membranes

Carbon nanotube based biomimetic membranes: mimicking protein channels regulated by phosphorylation

Hybrid nanoparticles based on organized protein immobilization on fullerenes.

Carbon nanotube based biomimetic membranes