Developing trends in nanomaterials and their environmental implications

Nature Nanotechnology (2023)Cite this article

52 Accesses

6 Altmetric

Metrics details

Nanotechnology is advancing at an accelerated pace in applications and novel nanomaterials. To become an enabling technology for a more sustainable society, we identify and assess nanomaterials and applications trends with potentially significant environmental implications.

Although there has already been considerable development of novel nanomaterials and applications in the past two or three decades, nanotechnology continues to be the source of tremendous innovation, with exciting new applications appearing rapidly. Important questions for researchers working on the potential benefits and implications of nanomaterials are: What is the projected growth for different nanomaterials? Which ones will likely become more available in the coming decade? What are the fastest-growing applications? Which applications are more likely to have environmental implications? Where will nanomaterials end up? Will a circular economy develop for nanomaterials1?

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$29.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

$259.00 per year

only $21.58 per issue

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Hansen, S. F. et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 17, 682–685 (2022).

Article CAS Google Scholar

The Global Market for Nanomaterials 2021-2031: Markets, applications, production and producers. Future Markets https://www.reportlinker.com/p06025362/The-Global-Market-for-Nanomaterials-2031.html (2021).

Wigger, H., Wohlleben, W. & Nowack, B. Environ. Sci. Nano 5, 1372–1385 (2018).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Commission Recommendation of 18 October 2011 on the Definition of Nanomaterial Text with EEA Relevance (EUR-Lex, 2011); https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2011/696/oj

Éléments issus des Déclarations des Substances à L’état Nanoparticulaire: Rapport d’etude 2019 (Ministry of the Environment, 2020); https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2016-11%20-%20Rapport%20R-nano%202016.pdf

Hong, H., Part, F. & Nowack, B. Environ. Sci. Technol. 56, 13798–13809 (2022).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Deng, T. et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 17, 269–277 (2021).

Article Google Scholar

Gilbertson, L. M. et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 15, 801–810 (2020).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Wohlleben, W. & Neubauer, N. NanoImpact 1, 39–45 (2016).

Article Google Scholar

Keller, A. A. & Lazareva, A. Environ. Sci. Tech. Lett. 1, 65–70 (2014).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Cervantes-Avilés, P. & Keller, A. A. Water Res. 189, 116603 (2021).

Article Google Scholar

Rajkovic, S., Bornhöft, N. A., van der Weijden, R., Nowack, B. & Adam, V. Waste Manag. 113, 118–131 (2020).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Download references

Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

Arturo A. Keller & Alex Ehrens

Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Yuanfang Zheng & Bernd Nowack

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Correspondence to Arturo A. Keller.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Reprints and Permissions

Keller, A.A., Ehrens, A., Zheng, Y. et al. Developing trends in nanomaterials and their environmental implications. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01409-z

Download citation

Published: 06 June 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01409-z

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative