Nanostructured Sorbents for Sustainable Environmental Management: Pioneering Next-Gen Solutions for Complex Contaminant Removal

Environmental contamination is caused by a wide array of persistent and emerging pollutants—such as heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceuticals and microplastics—that continues to pose a critical challenge, endangering both ecosystem and human health. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have intensified the release of these contaminants into air, water, and soil. Currently, traditional sorbents often face limitations in selectivity, efficiency, regeneration, scalability, and environmental impact. In response, there is a growing interest in the development of innovative, sustainable sorption technologies. Over the past decade, nanostructured sorbents have emerged as promising alternatives, offering high surface area, tunable chemistry, and enhanced contaminant removal. Advances in materials like metal-organic frameworks, carbon-based nanomaterials, and functionalized nanoparticles are driving the development of tailored, scalable solutions for complex environmental challenges.

This Research Topic aims to address the need for sustainable, and cost-effective sorption-based technologies for environmental remediation and resource management. As contamination become increasingly complex—with multiple pollutants co-occurring and interacting—there is a critical demand for advanced sorbents that combine high efficacy with environmental viability. The issue welcomes contributions that focus on the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of nanostructured sorbents, including hybrid systems that integrate renewable resources and circular economy strategies. Key priorities include enhancing selectivity for emerging contaminants, improving regeneration and recyclability, and assessing health and environmental impacts at scale. By bridging fundamental research with applied solutions, this Research Topic aims to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation remediation technologies. We invite collaboration among materials scientists, environmental engineers, and policy experts to create innovative solutions aligned with real-world challenges.

We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:

• Design and functionalization strategies for high-performance, eco-friendly, and nanostructured sorbents
• Hybrid sorbent systems for multi-contaminant removal in water, soil, or air
• Integration of biomaterials, agri-waste, renewable resources, and circular economy concepts
• Green synthesis methods, regeneration strategies, and life-cycle assessment of sorbent materials
• Pilot-scale and field applications demonstrating scalability and real-world relevance
• Environmental safety, risk assessment, and regulatory considerations for nanomaterials
• Integration of nanostructured sorbents into existing environmental infrastructure or novel remediation technologies

Submissions may address water, soil, or air remediation. Submissions are also encouraged from multidisciplinary teams, and contributions addressing pilot-scale studies, comparative validation, or the translation of laboratory findings to applied environmental solutions are welcome.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Sustainable sorbents, contaminant removal, hybrid materials, circular economy, environmental and green remediation, nanomaterials

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.