Design and development of sustainable hybrid nanostructured materials for innovative and eco-friendly approaches in water remediation

Nowadays the need for hybrid multifunctional nanostructured materials or nanocomposite has increased and become essential as nanotechnology and nanomaterial engineering is advancing with more accurate, sophisticated and either sustainable applications. [1] In particular, new (multi)functional hybrid organic-inorganic materials (HOIM) can be developed and used in different potential application fields like opto-electronic, mechanical, sensing, energy conversion and storage, environmental technologies, bio-medical, textiles, blue growth, building, and cultural heritage sectors, thanks to their unique and improved features and surface properties. [2] In this regard, (waste)water treatment and remediation methods represent an important subject of investigation for the abatement not only of the common classes of environmental pollutants, but also of various classes of emerging substances, constantly released into the environment by the anthropogenic activities. As a matter of facts, a variety of chemical synthesis and methods are actually used to develop hybrid materials and filtration membranes for water purification. [3-4] Furthermore, for the sake of sustainability and environmental protection, also the design and development of (multi)functional nanohybrids, nanocomposites and functional polymeric blends through a multidisciplinary feedback could considerably contribute to the improvement of human daily life and well-being. Herein, the development and application of innovative (multi)functional hybrid materials or nanocomposites, as well as membranes for the selective removal of contaminants from water, will be described and discussed in order to undertake the correlation between the designed functionalities and the properties of the obtained materials to assess the importance of a rational safe-by-design of more sustainable and innovative solutions for water remediation. These materials are based on the use of an appropriate multicomponent polymeric matrix based on opportune functional polymeric precursors, natural fillers or molecules, or either blended polymers. Further efforts are being made in this regard to create synthetic protocols and advanced technologies [4] that are fully green and eco-friendly, beginning with bio-based natural primary or secondary raw materials, in order to produce more sustainable, recyclable and re-usable materials, paying attention to their life cycle from cradle to grave in accordance with the circular economy principles.