Nanomaterials have found many applications due to their unique properties such as high surface-to-volume ratio, density, strength, and many more. This review focuses on the recent developments on the synthesis of nanomaterials using process intensification. The review covers the designing of microreactors, design principles, and fundamental mechanisms involved in process intensification using microreactors for synthesizing nanomaterials. The microfluidics technology operates in continuous mode as well as the segmented flow of gas–liquid combinations. Various examples from the literature are discussed in detail highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of microfluidics technology for nanomaterial synthesis.

This work investigates the effect of a modified nickel‐doped metal‐organic framework (Ni‐ZIF‐67) as a filler on thermal, mechanical, and water vapor permeability properties of environmentally friendly waterborne polyurethane (WPU). The facile and greener ultrasound (sonochemical) technique is developed to prepare multifunctional Ni‐ZIF‐67@WPU nanocomposites, exhibiting superior crystallinity and uniform distribution. The resultant Ni‐ZIF‐67 nanoparticles and Ni‐ZIF‐67@WPU films are characterized by various techniques, including powder XRD, FE‐SEM, FTIR, TGA, UTM, contact angle, and antibacterial properties. Ni‐ZIF‐67@WPU nanocomposites exhibited excellent three‐fold mechanical performance (tensile strength ≈22 MPa) at a very low 5 wt.% filler loading and high thermal stability compared to pristine WPU. In addition, Ni‐ZIF‐67@WPU exhibited optimum water vapor permeability performance at 5.0 wt.% filler with the potential antibacterial application. Demonstrate that the rapid and facile synthesis approach can enhance the interaction of filler and matrix, high surface area, and tuneable pore size of filler material. This new insight has a new green approach for fabricating advanced nanocomposites toward practical utilization.

This study effectively demonstrates the sonochemical synthesis of visible-light-responsive Cu-ZnO/TiO₂ ternary Z-scheme heterojunction nanocomposite photocatalyst. The as-prepared photocatalyst was comprehensively characterized by techniques including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and elemental dot mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-DRS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The photocatalytic activity of the Cu-ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite photocatalyst was assessed for the degradation of Congo red (CR), an azo dye, under direct sunlight. The pseudo-first-order rate constant for CR degradation was found to be 0.09 min⁻¹. The outcome implies that the synthesised nanocomposite photocatalyst demonstrates excellent photocatalytic activity under direct sunlight as 98% degradation of CR dye was achieved in approximately 20 min using the Cu-ZnO/TiO₂ nanocomposite photocatalyst. Furthermore, its high recoverability and reusability of five times indicate its excellent catalytic potential.

Starch nanocrystals (SNC) were prepared from maize starch using ultrasound assisted acid hydrolysis. The process takes less time for the generation of SNC, which is advantageous over conventional acid hydrolysis. The synthesized SNC were characterized using X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particle size and TEM data show that the particles were near to 150 nm, with oval morphology. The SNC with higher surface charge are obtained with this innovative approach as compared to conventional acid hydrolysis. Because of high surface charge and oval like morphology, the SNC performed well in reinforcing a polyurethane film. The rise in crystallinity by 16% was observed due to ultrasound cavitation. At the lower concentration of SNC in nanocomposite film, dynamic mechanical analysis demonstrated meaningful increment in mechanical properties of polyurethane nanocomposite film. The decrease in chain slippage over the glass transition temperature was observed because of the SNC reinforcement in polyurethane dispersion. Compared to the conventional acid hydrolysis, the present approach for the synthesis of starch nanocrystals is much faster and easier.