Trapping and detecting nanoplastics by MXene-derived oxide microrobots

Publication date: 22 Giu 2022

JournalSource: LEGACY
Authors: Martina Ussia

Nanoplastic pollution, the final product of plastic waste fragmentation in the environment, represents an increasing concern for the scientific community due to the easier diffusion and higher hazard associated with their small sizes. Therefore, there is a pressing demand for effective strategies to quantify and remove nanoplastics in wastewater. This work presents the “on-the-fly” capture of nanoplastics in the three-dimensional (3D) space by multifunctional MXene-derived oxide microrobots and their further detection. A thermal annealing process is used to convert Ti3C2Tx MXene into photocatalytic multi-layered TiO2, followed by the deposition of a Pt layer and the decoration with magnetic γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The MXene-derived γ-Fe2O3/Pt/TiO2 microrobots show negative photogravitaxis, resulting in a powerful fuel-free motion with six degrees of freedom under light irradiation. Owing to the unique combination …

Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK
Origin
Nature communications
Legacy ID
6eab1ba5683024aa1c011c3a84faf90a
Biblio references
Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Pages: 3573