Nanotech can help the world go green

New report highlights links between nanotechnology and green chemistry and engineering

Nanotechnology holds the key to reducing pollution and ultimately building a "clean" economy, a pressure group claimed today.

A new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies highlighted a "strong marriage" between nanotechnology and the principles and practices of environmentally friendly engineering.

The study, Green Nanotechnology: It's Easier Than You Think, was written by science writer Karen Schmidt for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, an initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The report highlights potentially beneficial links between nanotechnology and green chemistry and engineering, which aim to minimise environmental impact through resource-conserving and waste-eliminating improvements in processes and products.

"With a greater ability to manipulate matter and tailor properties, it should be possible to make products and processes with reduced toxicity, increased durability and improved energy efficiency," said the report.

For example, James Hutchison, a University of Oregon chemist, used DNA molecules in a process that holds promise for building nanoscale patterns on silicon chips and other surfaces.

The experimental method saves materials and requires less water and solvent than the traditional lithography techniques used in today's electronics industry.

Other researchers are investigating nanoscale approaches to replace lead and other toxic materials in electronics manufacturing.

Nanotechnology has opened promising new routes for making inexpensive solar cells as well as improving the performance and lowering the cost of fuel cells, the report goes on to claim.

"Nanotechnology is potentially a 'doubly green dream', offering the opportunity to make products and processes 'green' from the beginning," said Barbara Karn, an environmental scientist who helped organise the green nanotechnology programmes while at the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

"It also allows us to substitute more environmentally friendly chemicals, materials and manufacturing processes for older, more polluting ones."