Advances in nanomaterials induced biohydrogen production using waste biomass

•Impact of nanomaterials for hydrogen production using various biological routes are reviewed.•Mechanisms of the nanomaterials mediated enhanced biohydrogen production have been reviewed.•Emphasis has been made on the feasibility of nanomaterials for cellulosic biohydrogen production.•Challenges to implement nanomaterials for cellulosic biohydrogen production have been discussed. Recent advances on biohydrogen production using different types of waste biomass with the implementation of nanomaterials are summarized. Inspired by exceptional physicochemical and catalytic properties of nanomaterials, the present review focuses on several approaches including impact of nanomaterials on cellulosic biohydrogen production, possible pretreatment technology, as well as improved enzyme & sugar production in order to enhance the biohydrogen yield. Particularly, impacts of nanomaterial are elaborated in detail on different pathways of biohydrogen production (e.g. dark fermentation, photo-fermentation and hybrid-fermentation) using variety of waste biomass. Additionally, emphases are made on the feasibility of nanomaterials for making the biohydrogen production process more economical and sustainable and hence to develop advanced techniques for biohydrogen production using waste biomass.