Synthesis of nanomaterials from various wastes and their new age applications

Abstract

In this review, we scrutinized novel synthetic recipes for the fabrication of nanomaterials derived from various biowastes including crop residue, food waste, and industrial waste (e.g., spent battery waste and polythene waste). To this end, various pretreatment methods have been developed and applied for the conversion of wastes into useful forms of nanomaterials (e.g., metallic/carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes/nanosheets, and nanoactivated carbon) via chemical and thermal activation, arc discharge, vacuum evaporation-inert gas condensation, sodium borohydride reduction and solvent thermal approaches. Possible utilization of the waste-derived nanomaterials in various fields is discussed in detail including environmental remediation, bio-imaging, sensing, and energy storage by exploring their catalytic and fluorescence activities. Possible detrimental impact of using nanomaterials on living system is also highlighted. Lastly, our review emphasizes various aspects of an upcoming research areas which will be beneficial for further research. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.