Emerging Technologies in Chemistry for the Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

Chemists in all corners of the world have made exceptional contributions to science through innovative technologies and innovations in their research fields. A team of IUPAC experts has already begun to identify emerging technologies in Chemistry that could make our planet more sustainable. MOFs and porous materials for water harvesting, nanopesticides, 3D bioprinting, dual-ion batteries, macromonomers for better plastic recycling, nanosensors, artificial intelligence, high-pressure inorganic chemistry, flow chemistry, and reactive extrusion are among the most important chemical innovations. Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the world population, and it is projected to rise. Porous materials, such as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), could provide a solution to this problem, according to the United Nations (UN). Porous materials such as MOFs have a sponge-like chemical structure with microscopic spaces that can selectively trap molecules from gases hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, water, to more complex substances such as drugs, and enzymes. Some researchers accidentally discovered that MOFs have an incredible ability to capture water from the atmosphere. Nanopesticides are an alternative to conventional pesticides, as they can be used as "smart delivery systems" for the release of pesticides in a timely, but controlled fashion, for a desired timeframe. Chemists use radical ring-opening reactions to add heteroatoms and functional groups, such as ester, to structures, which traditionally have an all-carbon backbone, are hydrolysed for better plastic recycling.