Recycling Functional Colloids and Nanoparticles

The stability and separation of colloids and nanoparticles has been addressed in numerous studies. Most of the work reported to date requires high cost, energy intensive approaches such as ultracentrifugation and solvent evaporation to recover the particles. At this point of time, when green science is beginning to make a real impact, it is vital to achieve efficient and effective separation and recovery of colloids to provide environmental and economic benefits. This article explores recent advances in strategies for recycling and reusing functional nanomaterials, which indicate new directions in lean engineering of high-value nanoparticles, such as Au and Pd.