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Applications of Nanotechnology to the Environment 
 
Emerging nanotechnology capabilities promise a profound impact on the environment. This includes the creation of 
new manufacturing and processing technologies that will dramatically reduce undesirable emissions, as well as 
remediating the prior impact of industrial-age pollution. Of course, providing for our energy needs with 
nanotechnology-enabled renewable, clean resources such as nanosolar panels, as I discussed above, will clearly be a 
leading effort in this direction. 
By building particles and devices at the molecular scale, not only is size greatly reduced and surface area 
increased, but new electrical, chemical, and biological properties are introduced. Nanotechnology will eventually 
provide us with a vastly expanded toolkit for improved catalysis, chemical and atomic bonding, sensing, and 
mechanical manipulation, not to mention intelligent control through enhanced microelectronics. 
Ultimately we will redesign all of our industrial processes to achieve their intended results with minimal 
consequences, such as unwanted by-products and their introduction into the environment. We discussed in the 
previous section a comparable trend in biotechnology: intelligently designed pharmaceutical agents that perform 
highly targeted biochemical interventions with greatly curtailed side effects. Indeed, the creation of designed 
molecules through nanotechnology will itself greatly accelerate the biotechnology revolution. 
Contemporary nanotechnology research and development involves relatively simple "devices" such as 
nanoparticles, molecules created through nanolayers, and nanotubes. Nanoparticles, which comprise between tens and 
thousands of atoms, are generally crystalline in nature and use crystal-growing techniques, since we do not yet have 
the means for precise nanomolecular manufacturing. Nanostructures consist of multiple layers that self-assemble. Such 
structures are typically held together with hydrogen or carbon bonding and other atomic forces. Biological structures 
such as cell membranes and DNA itself are natural examples of multilayer nanostructures. 
As with all new technologies, there is a downside to nanoparticles: the introduction of new forms of toxins and 
other unanticipated interactions with the environment and life. Many toxic materials, such as gallium arsenide, are 
already entering the ecosystem through discarded electronic products. The same properties that enable nanoparticles 
and nanolayers to deliver highly targeted beneficial results can also lead to unforeseen reactions, particularly with 
biological systems such as our food supply and our own bodies. Although existing regulations may in many cases be 
effective in controlling them, the overriding concern is our lack of knowledge about a wide range of unexplored 
interactions. 
Nonetheless, hundreds of projects have begun applying nanotechnology to enhancing industrial processes and 
explicitly address existing forms of pollution. A few examples: 
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There is extensive investigation of the use of nanoparticles for treating, deactivating, and removing a wide 
variety of environmental toxins. The nanoparticle forms of oxidants, reductants, and other active materials have 
shown the ability to transform a wide range of undesirable substances. Nanoparticles activated by light (for 
example, forms of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) are able to bind and remove organic toxins and have low 
toxicity themselves.
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In particular, zinc oxide nanoparticles provide a particularly powerful catalyst for 
detoxifying chlorinated phenols. These nanoparticles act as both sensors and catalysts and can be designed to 
transform only targeted contaminants. 

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Nanofiltration membranes for water purification provide dramatically improved removal of fine-particle 
contaminants, compared to conventional methods of using sedimentation basins and wastewater clarifiers. 
Nanoparticles with designed catalysis are capable of absorbing and removing impurities. By using magnetic 
separation, these nanomaterials can be reused, which prevents them from becoming contaminants themselves. 
As one of many examples, consider nanoscale aluminosilicate molecular sieves called zeolites, which are being 
developed for controlled oxidation of hydrocarbons (for example, converting toluene to nontoxic 
benzaldehyde).
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This method requires less energy and reduces the volume of inefficient photoreactions and 
waste products. 
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Extensive research is under way to develop nanoproduced crystalline materials for catalysts and catalyst 
supports in the chemical industry. These catalysts have the potential to improve chemical yields, reduce toxic 
by-products, and remove contaminants.
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For example, the material MCM-41 is now used by the oil industry to 
remove ultrafine contaminants that other pollution-reduction methods miss. 
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It's estimated that the widespread use of nanocomposites for structural material in automobiles would reduce 
gasoline consumption by 1.5 billion liters per year, which in turn would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 
five billion kilograms per year, among other environmental benefits. 
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Nanorobotics can be used to assist with nuclear-waste management. Nanofilters can separate isotopes when 
processing nuclear fuel. Nanofluids can improve the effectiveness of cooling nuclear reactors. 
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Applying nanotechnology to home and industrial lighting could reduce both the need for electricity and an 
estimated two hundred million tons of carbon emissions per year.
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Self-assembling electronic devices (for example, self-organizing biopolymers), if perfected, will require less 
energy to manufacture and use and will produce fewer toxic by-products than conventional semiconductor-
manufacturing methods. 
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New computer displays using nanotube-based field-emission displays (FEDs) will provide superior display 
specifications while eliminating the heavy metals and other toxic materials used in conventional displays. 
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Bimetallic nanoparticles (such as iron/palladium or iron/silver) can serve as effective reductants and catalysts 
for PCBs, pesticides, and halogenated organic solvents.
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Nanotubes appear to be effective absorbents for dioxins and have performed significantly better at this than 
traditional activated carbon.
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This is a small sample of contemporary research on nanotechnology applications with potentially beneficial 
impact on the environment. Once we can go beyond simple nanoparticles and nanolayers and create more complex 
systems through precisely controlled molecular nanoassembly, we will be in a position to create massive numbers of 
tiny intelligent devices capable of carrying out relatively complex tasks. Cleaning up the environment will certainly be 
one of those missions.