Nanoparticle deposition on various substrates has gained significant attention due to the potential applications of nanoparticles in various fields. This review paper comprehensively analyzes different nanoparticle deposition techniques on ceramic, polymeric, and metallic substrates. The deposition techniques covered include electron gun evaporation, physical vapor deposition, plasma enriched chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), electrochemical deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electrophoretic deposition, laser metal deposition, and atomic layer deposition (ALD), thermophoretic deposition, supercritical deposition, spin coating, and dip coating. Additionally, the sustainability aspects of these deposition techniques are discussed, along with their potential applications in anti-icing, antibacterial power, and filtration systems. Finally, the review explores the importance of deposition purities in achieving optimal nanomaterial performance. This comprehensive review aims to provide valuable insights into state-of-the-art techniques and applications in the field of nanomaterial deposition.

This review paper explores the potential of bioleaching as a sustainable alternative for recovering metals from solid matrices. With over 12 billion tons of solid waste annually worldwide, bioleaching provides a promising opportunity to extract metals from solid waste, avoiding harmful chemical processes. It explains bacterial and fungal bioleaching techniques that extract copper, gold, zinc, and other metals from solid matrices. Fungal bioleaching effectively extracts a wide range of valuable metals, including nickel, vanadium, aluminium, molybdenum, cobalt, iron, manganese, silver, platinum, and palladium. The review highlights different solid matrices with metal contents that have the potential to be recovered by bioleaching, presenting promising bioprocess alternatives to current industrially available technologies for metal recovery. The optimal conditions for bioleaching, including pH, temperature, agitation–aeration, and pulp density are also discussed. The review shows that bioleaching has the potential to play a crucial role in the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy by providing an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly method for metal recovery from solid matrices.

This study aims to review and synthesize the rapidly evolving literature on technology transfer from universities, and the concepts and models included in it, from a knowledge-flow approach to find the factors contributing to its performance. This article provides a perspective on recent work, focusing on empirical studies on technology transfer in universities conducted in the last 32 years from a knowledge-based vision. The study was carried out from a systematic literature review in the Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink databases on 135 articles selected and evaluated by peers from critical surveillance factors such as technology transfer, knowledge flow, and university–industry relationship, among others. It was possible to identify 75 factors that, from a knowledge-based vision and specifically from a knowledge-flow approach, permit and contribute to the performance of technology transfer generated from research processes in universities. We classified studies into four categories according to their approaches, each with their dimensions and factors: management of knowledge, resources and capabilities, management of technological transfer, and the university–industry relationship. This classification permitted not only identification but also the systematization of the different factors and related authors that, from a knowledge-flow approach, contribute to the performance of technological transfers in universities, reflecting their efficiency and effectiveness. In this respect, absorption capacity and open innovation are topics which are worthy of exploration.

The exponential growth of electronic waste (e-waste) has raised significant environmental concerns, with projections indicating a surge to 74.7 million metric tons of e-waste generated by 2030. Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs), constituting approximately 10% of all e-waste, are particularly intriguing due to their high content of valuable metals and rare earth elements. However, the presence of hazardous elements necessitates sustainable recycling strategies. This review explores innovative approaches to sustainable metal nanoparticle synthesis from WPCBs. Efficient metal recovery from WPCBs begins with disassembly and the utilization of advanced equipment for optimal separation. Various pretreatment techniques, including selective leaching and magnetic separation, enhance metal recovery efficiency. Green recovery systems such as biohydrometallurgy offer eco-friendly alternatives, with high selectivity. Converting metal ions into nanoparticles involves concentration and transformation methods like chemical precipitation, electrowinning, and dialysis. These methods are vital for transforming recovered metal ions into valuable nanoparticles, promoting sustainable resource utilization and eco-friendly e-waste recycling. Sustainable green synthesis methods utilizing natural sources, including microorganisms and plants, are discussed, with a focus on their applications in producing well-defined nanoparticles. Nanoparticles derived from WPCBs find valuable applications in drug delivery, microelectronics, antimicrobial materials, environmental remediation, diagnostics, catalysis, agriculture, etc. They contribute to eco-friendly wastewater treatment, photocatalysis, protective coatings, and biomedicine. The important implications of this review lie in its identification of sustainable metal nanoparticle synthesis from WPCBs as a pivotal solution to e-waste environmental concerns, paving the way for eco-friendly recycling practices and the supply of valuable materials for diverse industrial applications.