article · Next Materials
Green-synthesised metal-based nanomaterials and their composites offer promising options for removing pesticide contaminants from aquatic systems. Produced using biological precursors, these materials reduce hazardous reagent consumption and introduce advantageous surface functionalities. Laboratory evaluations confirm their strong capacity to adsorb and degrade target compounds through mechanisms such as photocatalysis, reactive oxygen species generation, and redox reactions. However, major barriers hinder their deployment. Inconsistent experimental conditions, poor reporting of kinetics, and measuring parent-pesticide loss rather than complete mineralisation or toxicity reduction obscure true performance. Furthermore, variability in biological feedstocks, nanoparticle leaching, uncertain yields, difficult purification, and low batch reproducibility remain critical technical hurdles. While hybrid structures and computational optimisation may enhance selectivity and operational control, systematic testing under continuous-flow conditions and real-world water matrices is required to validate practical viability alongside conventional remediation technologies.
Pesticides in water supplies threaten environmental stability and human health, while standard treatment methods can generate secondary waste and consume high levels of energy. Greener nanomaterials offer an alternative path to pollutant removal, but establishing whether they are safer, more reliable, and genuinely more effective than conventional treatment approaches is essential before they can be integrated into real water treatment systems.
The technology is aimed at water remediation and effluent treatment applications, targeting water utilities and environmental management sectors. At present, it sits at an early laboratory stage. Practical commercialisation is hindered by unstandardised synthesis, batch variability, uncertain yields, and lack of continuous-flow pilot data. Moving towards commercial viability will require rigorous testing in real water matrices, techno-economic feasibility assessments, and clear regulatory evaluation of nanoparticle leaching and durability.
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Pesticide contamination of aquatic systems remains a persistent environmental and public-health concern, while many conventional treatment technologies are limited by high energy demand, secondary waste generation, and incomplete mineralization. This review critically evaluates green-synthesized metal-based nanomaterials (GS-MBNMs), comprising metallic nanoparticles, and their biofunctionalized or supported nanocomposites, for pesticide remediation by linking biological precursor chemistry, synthesis conditions, nanostructure, surface properties, removal mechanisms, durability, environmental safety, and scale-up readiness. Adsorption, photocatalytic oxidation, reactive oxygen species-mediated transformation, Fenton-like reactions, and redox degradation are examined alongside the effects of particle size, morphology, porosity, crystallinity, defect density, and biomolecular corona composition. Available studies confirm strong laboratory-scale adsorption and degradation performance; however, direct comparison remains constrained by inconsistent operating conditions, incomplete reporting of surface area and kinetic parameters, and frequent reliance on parent-pesticide disappearance rather than mineralization, transformation-product identification, or toxicity reduction. Green synthesis can reduce hazardous reagent use and provide beneficial surface functionality, but biological-feedstock variability, difficult purification, uncertain yield, nanoparticle leaching, and limited batch reproducibility restrict practical deployment. Hybrid nanostructures and machine-learning-assisted optimization offer potential gains in selectivity, charge transfer, recovery, and process control, yet evidence remains limited for pesticide-specific systems. A source-to-deployment framework is proposed, integrating standardized synthesis, mechanistic validation, real-matrix testing, regeneration, continuous-flow operation, life-cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and regulatory evaluation to support safe and commercially credible scale-up. The evidence therefore supports technical promise, but not universal superiority over conventionally synthesized counterparts.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.nxmate.2026.103145
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