Microplastic pollution in Himalayan lakes: assessment, risks, and sustainable remediation strategies

• Sameeksha Rawat,
• S. M. Tauseef and
• Madhuben Sharma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 2144–2167, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.148

Current status of using adsorbent nanomaterials for removing microplastics from water supply systems: a mini review

• Nguyen Thi Nhan and
• Tran Le Luu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1837–1850, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.127

• reaction pathways of these materials. Classification and potential of adsorbent nanomaterials Carbon-based adsorbents. Carbon-based adsorbents, such as graphene oxide (GO), activated carbon, biochar, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have been extensively investigated regarding the treatment of pollutants in

• general and MPs in particular. By using corncob biochar, Abdoul Magid et al. showed an adsorption of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) of about 19 mg·g−1. The main mechanisms of PSNP adsorption include increased surface area from pyrolysis and oxidation, hydrophobic interactions (fresh biochar), hydrogen

• bonding through oxygen-containing groups (oxidized biochar), pore filling, and electrostatic interactions [53]. GO materials, such as a nickel/reduced graphene oxide (Ni/rGO) nanocomposite, also exhibited high adsorption efficiency, achieving 80.3% removal of PS from water containing 100 mg·L−1 PS. The

Nanotechnology-based approaches for the removal of microplastics from wastewater: a comprehensive review

• Nayanathara O Sanjeev,
• Manjunath Singanodi Vallabha and
• Rebekah Rubidha Lisha Rabi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1607–1632, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.114

• the process. The removal of MPs by adsorbents primarily relies on hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding, which are influenced by their surface characteristics. Among various adsorbents, activated carbon and biochar have gained wide attention for treating water

The role of biochar in combating microplastic pollution: a bibliometric analysis in environmental contexts

• Tuan Minh Truong Dang,
• Thao Thu Thi Huynh,
• Guo-Ping Chang-Chien and
• Ha Manh Bui

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1401–1416, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.102

• , Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam 10.3762/bjnano.16.102 Abstract This study employs a bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace to explore research trends on the impact of biochar on microplastics (MPs) in soil and water environments. In agricultural soils, MPs reduce crop yield, alter soil properties

• , and disrupt microbial diversity and nutrient cycling. Biochar, a stable and eco-friendly material, has demonstrated effectiveness in mitigating these effects by restoring soil chemistry, enhancing microbial diversity and improving crop productivity. Recent studies report that biochar increases crop

• yields by 30–81%, even under high MP contamination levels (up to five times that of biochar-modified bacteria). Additionally, biochar enhances Olsen-P availability by 46.6%, increases soil organic carbon in microaggregates by 35.7%, and reduces antibiotic resistance genes by promoting beneficial microbes

Emerging strategies in the sustainable removal of antibiotics using semiconductor-based photocatalysts

• Yunus Ahmed,
• Keya Rani Dutta,
• Parul Akhtar,
• Md. Arif Hossen,
• Md. Jahangir Alam,
• Obaid A. Alharbi,
• Hamad AlMohamadi and
• Abdul Wahab Mohammad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 264–285, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.21

• , including biochar, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), functionalized mesoporous silica, porous organic polymers, zeolite, and derivatives of graphene. These substances act as a support for metal oxides and immobilize the catalyst, increase the catalyst surface area, and improve the chemical stability

• -containing biochar (ZnO/NOC), which showed a TC removal efficiency of 97.08%. The photocatalytic activities of ZnO/NOC were 5.4 and 7.7 times higher than that of pure ZnO for TC (30 mg/L) under ultraviolet and visible light, respectively. The excellent performance was ascribed to large surface area, proper

• pore sizes, fast charge transfer, high density and long lifetime of photoinduced charges, and strong interaction between ZnO and N,O-containing biochar [81]. Roy and colleagues [82] effectively synthesized a rGO-ZnO composite functionalized with ferrocene through a simple hydrothermal method. This Fc

Bismuth-based nanostructured photocatalysts for the remediation of antibiotics and organic dyes

• Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo and
• Faisal Suleiman Mustafa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 291–321, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.26

• efficiencies for both ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin were recorded at a highly basic pH [187] using a magnetic Bi2WO6-biochar composite with a pHpzc of 6.75. The best performance was at pH 7. Since both antibiotics and photocatalyst were negatively charged at a basic pH, electrostatic repulsion between them was

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

Self-standing heterostructured NiC_x-NiFe-NC/biochar as a highly efficient cathode for lithium–oxygen batteries

• Shengyu Jing,
• Xu Gong,
• Shan Ji,
• Linhui Jia,
• Bruno G. Pollet,
• Sheng Yan and
• Huagen Liang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1809–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.163

• catalysts is highly desirable for practical applications in lithium–oxygen batteries. Herein, a heterostructure of NiFe and NiCx inside of N-doped carbon (NiCx-NiFe-NC) derived from bimetallic Prussian blue supported on biochar was developed as a novel self-standing cathode for lithium–oxygen batteries. The

• biochar was synthesized for the use in Li–O2 batteries. The electrocatalytic properties of the obtained electrodes were evaluated in a Li–O2 battery and these electrodes showed superior catalytic performance in Li–O2 batteries. Experimental Preparation of NiFe-PBA/PP-T NiFe-PBA/PP precursors were prepared

• . Conclusion In this investigation, heterostructured NiCx-NiFe-NC derived from bimetallic Prussian blue supported on biochar was successfully synthesized to improve the electronic conductivity and electrocatalytic activity, and was used as the cathode material for Li–O2 batteries. When the precursor was heated

Adsorptive removal of bulky dye molecules from water with mesoporous polyaniline-derived carbon

• Hyung Jun An,
• Jong Min Park,
• Nazmul Abedin Khan and
• Sung Hwa Jhung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 597–605, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.47

• because of functional carbon materials (graphene [16] or porous carbon [17]), mesoporous materials [18] and MOFs [19][20][21][22]. For example, MOFs [23][24][25], carbonaceous materials (such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, biochar and activated carbon) [26] and clay [27] have been applied in adsorptive

Synthesis of highly active ETS-10-based titanosilicate for heterogeneously catalyzed transesterification of triglycerides

• Muhammad A. Zaheer,
• David Poppitz,
• Khavar Feyzullayeva,
• Marianne Wenzel,
• Jörg Matysik,
• Radomir Ljupkovic,
• Aleksandra Zarubica,
• Alexander A. Karavaev,
• Andreas Pöppl,
• Roger Gläser and
• Muslim Dvoyashkin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2039–2061, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.200

• removal [13]. Amongst the prospective solid catalysts designed for transesterification reactions, such as calcium [14] and other metal oxides [15], metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) [10], silica-supported catalysts [16], biochar [17] and other biomass-derived catalysts [18], zeolites and molecular sieves

Development of adsorptive membranes by confinement of activated biochar into electrospun nanofibers

• Mehrdad Taheran,
• Mitra Naghdi,
• Satinder K. Brar,
• Emile Knystautas,
• Mausam Verma,
• Rao. Y. Surampalli and
• Jose. R. Valero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1556–1563, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.149

• study, a series of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/activated biochar nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with different loadings of biochar (0–2%, w/w) were fabricated using electrospinning. The morphology and structure of fabricated membranes was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform

• infrared and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that at 1.5% of biochar loading, the surface area reached the maximum value of 12.4 m2/g and beyond this loading value, agglomeration of particles inhibited fine interaction with nanofibrous matrix. Also, the adsorption tests using

• chlortetracycline showed that, under environmentally relevant concentrations, the fabricated adsorptive NFMs had a potential for removal of these types of emerging contaminants from water and wastewaters. Keywords: adsorptive membrane; biochar; chlortetracycline; nanofibers; Introduction Adsorptive membranes have