Nanomaterials and nanotechnology emerged over about thirty years from fundamental concepts to a vast range of applications, such as in medicine, electronics, energy storage and environmental protection [1,2]. Nanomaterials possess unique properties arising from their nanoscale dimensions. The main applications in chemical engineering are catalyst, sensor, coating, drug delivery, adsorption and separation, etc. In this preface I would like to widen the conception of nanomaterials from nanosized materials to nanostuctured materials because of their applications and opportunities in chemical engineering. Our journal Recent Patent on Chemical Engineering recently published quite a few reviews on patents and research papers of nanomaterials and nanotechnology for chemical engineering. Examples are metal-organic frameworks for heterogeneous catalysis [3], mesoporous materials for catalysis, active ingredient delivery, separation and purification [4], microstructured reactors for specific catalysis [5], carbon nanotubes for purification and separation [6], and most recently carbon nanotubes-supported PtRu bimetals for enhanced catalysis [7]. Recently S. Dutta reviewed various patents and research papers on different nanomaterials, their applications and preparation methods, emphasizing on the role of chemical engineers for the applications and development of nanomaterials and nanotechnology [8]. Because nanomaterials and nanotechnology provide big opportunities in chemical engineering I hope that more experts will contribute review and research articles on recent patents in the field to the journal.
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