Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
risks linked to this emerging technology have not been exam-
ined. Research on nanoparticles and insect control should be
geared towards the introduction of faster and ecofriendly pesti-
cides in the future (Bhattacharyya et al., 2007). Therefore, the
leading chemical companies focus especially on nanopesticides
formulation for targeting the host tissue through nanoencapsu-
lation. Thus, nanotechnology will surely revolutionise agricul-
ture in the near future.
Nanotechnology for mitigating climate change
Nanotechnology is flourishing as one of the newest approaches
to combat the climate change. Under sub-optimal conditions,
the potential of gold nanoparticles in alleviating the oxidative
damage to
Brassica juncea
has already been explored (Arora
et al., 2012). Besides this, they have also concluded that the
gold nanoparticles improve the redox status of the plants under
adverse conditions, thereby facilitating healthy survival of this
crop. The significant increase in seed yield was also observed
in gold nanoparticle-treated plants. Thus, nanotechnology
paves the way for food security even under the unfavourable
environmental conditions.
Nanoparticles for environmental remediation
Nanoparticles represent a new category of environmental rem-
edy technologies that provide cost-effective solutions to some
of the most challenging environmental problems. Research has
shown that iron nanoparticles are very effective for the trans-
formation and detoxification of a wide variety of common envi-
ronmental contaminants, such as chlorinated organic solvents,
organo-chlorine pesticides and so on. Iron nanoparticles have
a large surface area, high surface reactivity and also provide
enormous flexibility for
in situ
applications. Catalysed and sup-
ported nanoparticles have been synthesised to further enhance
the speed and efficiency of remediation. Recent research has
suggested that in a remediation technique, the use of iron
nanoparticles has the following advantages: (1) effective for
transforming a large variety of environmental contaminants,
(2) cost-effective and (3) non-toxic. Recent laboratory research
has largely established iron nanoparticles as effective reduc-
tants and catalysts for a variety of common environmental
contaminants, including chlorinated organic compounds and
metal ions. Using a palladium and iron nanoparticles dose at
6.25 gL
−1
, all chlorinated compounds were reduced below the
detectable limits (Chinnamuthu et al., 2009). Zero-valent iron
(ZVI) can be used as a chemical reductant for the removal of
