Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives
Water contamination with toxic pollutants such as heavy metals, oil spills, organic and inorganic dyes, pesticides, etc., causes severe environmental and human health pollution. Aerogels have gained increasing attention in recent years as promising adsorbents due to their outstanding properties. Thi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/12/901 |
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| author | Alexa-Maria Croitoru Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu Alexandra Cătălina Bîrcă Dan Eduard Mihaiescu Marius Rădulescu Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu |
| author_facet | Alexa-Maria Croitoru Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu Alexandra Cătălina Bîrcă Dan Eduard Mihaiescu Marius Rădulescu Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu |
| author_sort | Alexa-Maria Croitoru |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water contamination with toxic pollutants such as heavy metals, oil spills, organic and inorganic dyes, pesticides, etc., causes severe environmental and human health pollution. Aerogels have gained increasing attention in recent years as promising adsorbents due to their outstanding properties. This paper critically evaluates the recent advancements in aerogel-based materials, highlighting their challenges, limitations, and practical applications in large-scale experiments. The influence of key parameters such as adsorbent dosage, solution pH, ionic strength, and temperature is also discussed. Integrating nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing methods, a new generation of high-performance adsorbents with increased sorption capacity and reusability could be developed. Additionally, pilot studies and field trials are highlighted in this review, showing aerogels’ practical and real-world applications. Although various gaps in the production process that limit aerogel implementation in the market still exist, the research progress in the field shows that novel aerogels could be used in real wastewater treatment in the future. This review underscores the need for future research to develop advanced aerogel-based materials using green and sustainable synthesis methods that can lead to full-scale application. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bd72d126b93a44b0b5930afed59258b5 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj-art-bd72d126b93a44b0b5930afed59258b52025-08-20T03:16:35ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-06-01151290110.3390/nano15120901Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future PerspectivesAlexa-Maria Croitoru0Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu1Alexandra Cătălina Bîrcă2Dan Eduard Mihaiescu3Marius Rădulescu4Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu5Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Gh. Polizu St. 1–7, 011061 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Gh. Polizu St. 1–7, 011061 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Gh. Polizu St. 1–7, 011061 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Gh. Polizu St. 1–7, 011061 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 1-7 Polizu St., 011061 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Gh. Polizu St. 1–7, 011061 Bucharest, RomaniaWater contamination with toxic pollutants such as heavy metals, oil spills, organic and inorganic dyes, pesticides, etc., causes severe environmental and human health pollution. Aerogels have gained increasing attention in recent years as promising adsorbents due to their outstanding properties. This paper critically evaluates the recent advancements in aerogel-based materials, highlighting their challenges, limitations, and practical applications in large-scale experiments. The influence of key parameters such as adsorbent dosage, solution pH, ionic strength, and temperature is also discussed. Integrating nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing methods, a new generation of high-performance adsorbents with increased sorption capacity and reusability could be developed. Additionally, pilot studies and field trials are highlighted in this review, showing aerogels’ practical and real-world applications. Although various gaps in the production process that limit aerogel implementation in the market still exist, the research progress in the field shows that novel aerogels could be used in real wastewater treatment in the future. This review underscores the need for future research to develop advanced aerogel-based materials using green and sustainable synthesis methods that can lead to full-scale application.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/12/901aerogelsadsorptionpollutantswater treatmentsustainable production |
| spellingShingle | Alexa-Maria Croitoru Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu Alexandra Cătălina Bîrcă Dan Eduard Mihaiescu Marius Rădulescu Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives Nanomaterials aerogels adsorption pollutants water treatment sustainable production |
| title | Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives |
| title_full | Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives |
| title_short | Nanostructured Aerogels for Water Decontamination: Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives |
| title_sort | nanostructured aerogels for water decontamination advances challenges and future perspectives |
| topic | aerogels adsorption pollutants water treatment sustainable production |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/12/901 |
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