Themed collection Best Papers 2018 – Environmental Science: Nano

The Editors-in-Chief of the Environmental Science journals introduce the Best Papers of 2018.

The scientific community has invested effort into standardising methodologies for the regulatory ecotoxicity testing of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), but the practical requirements for bioaccumulation testing of ENMs have been given less attention.

Micromotors and the environment: illustrating the efficient operation of carbon-based micromotors for water purification.

Environmental transformations of natural and engineered carbon nanoparticles significantly affect their fate, transport, and interactions with organic contaminants.

The influence of environmental transformation on the toxicity of metal nanoparticles and possible mechanisms are recapitulated and discussed.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO₂), one of the most produced engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), are used in pigments, photocatalysis, food additives, and personal care products.

The current review summarizes the recent advances in nanotechnology for PhACs removal and proposes possible further research directions.

We aim to establish the effect of bacterial diversity in assessing nanotoxicity.

Proteins encountered in biological and environmental systems bind to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to form a protein corona (PC) that alters the surface chemistry, reactivity, and fate of the ENMs.

Synergistic effects of the heterogeneous reaction of sulfur dioxide on mineral dust nanoparticle mixtures.

A key hypothesis in nanosafety assessment is that the NP core chemistry and eco-corona are primary factors controlling toxicity.

The reversible flow of Fe(II) across the magnetite–solution interface impacts the stoichiometry and reactivity of magnetite nanoparticles.

Environmental nanoplastic concentrations are fairly unknown, to tackle this we propose a framework determining a broad size spectrum of plastics.

Nanoceria ROS scavenging is a key tool for understanding and improving plant tolerance to salinity, a stress that severely limits crop yield worldwide.

This study compares the effect of nanoscale and microscale zerovalent iron on natural freshwater microplankton over 21 days.

Sub-nanometer Cu-FeOOH clusters/CNNS exhibited ultrafast degradation of organic pollutants, good stability, recyclability, and large-scale application at 15 L.

We studied the biocompatibility of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene sheets by analyzing their potential toxicity in vivo and their potential risks on marine biota and ecosystems using a zebrafish embryo model.

Improved capacitive deionization has been demonstrated by using 3D intercalated graphene sheet–sphere nanocomposite architectures.

A lot of research efforts are currently dedicated to the development of nano-enabled agrochemicals. It is thus urgent to develop suitable strategies for their ecological assessment.

Layered 2D etched Ti₃AlC₂ nanofibers and nanosheets with different morphologies (named as e-TACFs and e-TACSs) were successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal treatment.

Optimized plant digestion using nitric acid in conjunction with Raman analysis is an effective approach for detecting and analyzing multiwall carbon nanotubes in lettuce plants.

The presence and accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics in marine and fresh waters represent a huge environmental concern.

Sulfidation of nanoscale zerovalent iron (NZVI) enhances its reactivity to chlorinated organic contaminants such as trichloroethene (TCE).

The combination of emission and fate modelling improves the exposure assessment of engineered nanoparticles in complex urban systems.

Extraction of uranium from seawater is of great interest because of its potential applications in the nuclear energy field.

Detecting and quantifying engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in complex environmental matrices requires the distinction between natural nanoparticles (NNPs) and ENPs.

CuO nanoparticles or compounds affect physiological parameters in bell pepper plants.