**5. Applications**

The use of nanomaterials to assemble architectures of defined size, composition and orientation allows researchers to utilize the particular electrical, optical, catalytic and magnetic properties of those materials for:


**5. Applications** 

magnetic properties of those materials for:

carboxylic(C104E) cation exchange resin.

magnetization curves for Pd@Co MNPs supported on a sulfonic (C100E) and

**Figure 19.** XANES spectra of Ag in comparison with Ag standards for Ag@Co-C100E sample (blue line in the graphic) and the linear combination fitting among all of the compounds analyzed is also shown

**Figure 20.** SQUID Magnetic curves obtained of Pd@Co-NPs stabilized in C100E and C104E supports

The use of nanomaterials to assemble architectures of defined size, composition and orientation allows researchers to utilize the particular electrical, optical, catalytic and

in a fitting range from -20 to 30 eV. Ag0 (red) and AgNO3 (green) are standards.

To achieve these goals, it is necessary to use multidisciplinary approaches; inputs from physicists, biologists, chemists, and engineers[59-61] are required to advance our understanding of nanomaterials.[62] In fact, NPs properties are already used for developing new products[63, 64] such as paints, where they serve to break down odour substances, on surgical instruments in order to keep them sterile, in highly effective sun creams, slow release pharmaceuticals and many others.[50, 65-67] Bench-marketing studies on main current industries[53, 68] revealed that market opportunities that are illustrated in Figure 21.

As it is clearly shown, most of these market opportunities are involved in the development of new materials. Moreover, among the applied NPs, metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanoparticles are of the most importance. However, because of the aforementioned toxicity and stability concerns have driven the research to develop nanomaterials with higher levels of safety. In this sense, here two different examples of safe and stable nanocomposites applications are discussed: their use for organic catalysis or for water disinfection.

**Figure 21.** Possible marketable applications of nanocomposites in different fields.
