Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Nano revolution: pioneering the future of water reclamation with micro-/nano-robots

This review covers the development and application of tiny self-propelled robots at the micro and nano scale for cleaning contaminated water. Researchers found that these robots can actively seek out and interact with pollutants including heavy metals, dyes, microplastics, oils, and harmful microorganisms. The study suggests that micro- and nano-robots represent a promising emerging technology for water monitoring and environmental cleanup.

2024 Nanoscale Advances 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Advancements in Multimodal Chemically Powered Micro/Nanorobots for Environmental Sensing and Remediation

This review covers recent developments in chemically powered micro- and nanorobots designed for environmental sensing and pollution cleanup. Researchers describe how these tiny self-propelling machines can detect and capture pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and organic contaminants in water. The study highlights the potential of nanorobot technology as an emerging tool for environmental remediation, though challenges in scalability and real-world deployment remain.

2025 Chemosensors 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Are micro/nanorobots an effective solution to eliminate micro/nanoplastics in water/wastewater treatment plants?

Researchers reviewed micro/nanorobots as an emerging strategy for removing microplastics from water, finding that while these tiny magnetically or optically driven devices can capture particles through electrostatic interactions, their high cost, fuel dependence, low plastic degradation efficiency, and risk of secondary pollution currently limit practical deployment.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Smart micro- and nanorobots for water purification

This review explores the use of tiny self-propelled micro- and nanorobots as a new approach to water purification. These programmable synthetic robots can actively seek out and interact with pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and organic contaminants, overcoming the limitations of passive treatment methods. The technology represents a promising frontier for more targeted and efficient water remediation.

2023 Nature Reviews Bioengineering 167 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanorobots for efficient removal and degradation of micro/nanoplastics

This paper reviews how tiny self-propelled robots at the micro and nanoscale could be used to capture and remove microplastics from water. These robots can be designed to target specific types of plastic particles and move through water on their own, offering advantages over traditional filtration methods. While still in early development, this technology could eventually provide a practical way to reduce microplastic contamination in drinking water and aquatic environments.

2023 Cell Reports Physical Science 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanorobots for remediation of water resources and aquatic life

Not relevant to microplastics — this review covers micro/nanorobot technologies for water pollution control, focusing on propulsion methods and decontamination mechanisms for biological and chemical pollutants broadly, with only passing mention of plastics.

2023 Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Remediation of micro- and nanoplastics by robotic technology: Performance, critical factors and marketing barriers

This review examines how micro- and nano-robotic technologies can be used to target and remove microplastic and nanoplastic particles from water. Researchers evaluated the performance of various robotic systems powered by light, magnetic fields, or chemical reactions, and found they show promise for precise pollutant removal at small scales. The study identifies cost-effectiveness and scaling up from laboratory to real-world applications as the main barriers to commercialization.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano/Microplastics Capture and Degradation by Autonomous Nano/Microrobots: A Perspective

This perspective article explores how tiny self-propelled nano- and microrobots could be used to capture and break down microplastic and nanoplastic particles in water. Researchers reviewed recent advances showing these autonomous robots can efficiently collect plastic particles through enhanced physical interactions as they move through contaminated water. The technology represents a promising but still early-stage approach to actively cleaning up plastic pollution at scales too small for conventional methods.

2022 Advanced Functional Materials 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Developments in the Application of Nanomaterials for Water Treatment and Their Impact on the Environment

This review covers the application of nanomaterials for water treatment and remediation, evaluating how nanomaterial properties enable removal of pollutants including heavy metals, organic contaminants, and microplastics. It surveys the current state of research and discusses practical challenges for scaling up nanomaterial-based water treatment.

2020 Nanomaterials 196 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanotechnology in Wastewater Management: A New Paradigm Towards Wastewater Treatment

This review examines how nanotechnology-based methods like nano-filtration, photocatalysis, and nano-adsorbents can improve wastewater treatment. These approaches offer advantages over traditional methods, including better removal of tiny pollutants like microplastics that conventional filters miss. Improving wastewater treatment is important because treatment plants are a major pathway through which microplastics reach drinking water sources.

2021 Molecules 382 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanomaterials for Microplastic Removal from Wastewater: Current State of the Art Nanomaterials and Future Prospects

This review surveys recent advances in using nanomaterials to remove microplastics and nanoplastics from wastewater, since conventional treatment plants struggle to capture these tiny particles. Researchers evaluate different nanomaterial approaches including magnetic nanoparticles, photocatalysts, and membrane technologies. The study identifies promising strategies but notes that challenges around scalability, cost, and potential environmental risks of the nanomaterials themselves still need to be addressed.

2023 ACS ES&T Water 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanomaterials for microplastics remediation in wastewater: A viable step towards cleaner water

This review examines how nanomaterials, tiny engineered particles with high surface area and reactivity, can be used to remove microplastics from water more effectively than traditional methods like filtration and sedimentation. While promising, these technologies face challenges including high production costs, potential toxicity of the nanomaterials themselves, and difficulty scaling up from lab to real-world applications. Improving these methods is important because current water treatment often fails to remove the smallest and most harmful microplastic particles.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Harnessing Nanomaterials for Water Decontamination: Insights into Environmental Impact, Sustainable Applications, and the Emerging Role of Polymeric Nanostructures

This review examines how nanomaterials can be used for water decontamination, including the removal of microplastics from aquatic environments. Researchers found that properties like large surface area and high reactivity make nanomaterials effective at addressing water pollution, though concerns remain about the environmental persistence and potential secondary effects of the nanomaterials themselves.

2026 Polymers
Article Tier 2

Emerging micropollutants in aquatic ecosystems and nanotechnology-based removal alternatives: A review

This review examines emerging micropollutants in water systems, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and heavy metals, and how nanotechnology-based approaches can help remove them. These contaminants threaten drinking water safety and aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The paper evaluates various nanomaterial-based filtration and degradation methods as promising solutions for cleaning up contaminated water.

2023 Chemosphere 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanomaterials for the remediation of microplastics in wastewater

This review evaluates how engineered nanomaterials can be used to capture and break down microplastics in wastewater, highlighting approaches based on metal oxide nanoparticles, carbon-based materials, and magnetic composites. Researchers found that these nanomaterials offer high surface area and reactivity advantages over conventional treatment methods. The study identifies scalability, cost, and potential secondary pollution from the nanomaterials themselves as key challenges to address before widespread adoption.

2025 Nano Trends 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Advanced Nanotechnology in Wastewater Treatment: Investigating the Role of Nanoparticles in Pollutant Removal, Water Recovery, and Environmental Sustainability

This review examines how nanotechnology-based approaches — including nanoparticle adsorbents, nanofiltration membranes, and photocatalysts — can address persistent water pollutants including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and heavy metals more effectively than conventional treatment methods.

2025 Scholars Journal of Engineering and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Micromachines for Microplastics Treatment

This review summarizes advances in micro- and nanomotor devices for microplastic removal from aquatic environments, describing how these tiny machines can be powered by chemical fuels or light to propel themselves and capture or degrade plastic particles. The authors identify scalability and environmental safety as key challenges for transitioning from laboratory demonstrations to real-world applications.

2022 ACS Nanoscience Au 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovations in chemical degradation technologies for the removal of micro/nano-plastics in water: A comprehensive review

This review summarizes advances in chemical degradation technologies for removing micro- and nanoplastics from water, including photocatalysis, Fenton-based reactions, electrochemical oxidation, and micro/nanomotor approaches. Researchers analyzed the key factors that influence degradation effectiveness, such as particle properties and operating conditions. The study identifies current challenges and outlines future directions for developing practical chemical methods to address plastic pollution in water systems.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 16 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of nanomaterials in enhancing wastewater treatment processes: A review

This review examines how nanomaterials can improve wastewater treatment, including the removal of emerging contaminants like microplastics that traditional methods struggle to capture. Nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and nanocatalysts can enhance pollutant removal through better filtering, chemical breakdown, and adsorption. While promising, the review also notes that nanomaterials themselves could pose environmental risks if not managed carefully during and after the treatment process.

2024 Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Engineered nanocatalysts for degradation and valorisation of micro/nanoplastics

This review explored how engineered nanocatalysts can break down micro- and nanoplastics and convert them into useful products. Researchers highlighted several promising technologies, including microrobots, nanozymes, and solar-powered systems that can efficiently degrade persistent plastic particles. The study suggests that catalytic approaches offer a pathway toward both cleaning up plastic pollution and supporting a circular economy by turning waste into valuable materials.

2026 Chemical Communications 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano-based remediation strategies for micro and nanoplastic pollution

This review covers how nanomaterial-based technologies can be used to remove microplastics from the environment, including methods using magnetic nanoparticles, photocatalysts, and membrane filters. While current physical, chemical, and biological removal methods each have limitations, nanomaterials can enhance their effectiveness by targeting smaller plastic particles that traditional methods miss. Better removal technologies could ultimately reduce human exposure to microplastics in drinking water and food.

2024 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Magnetic Nanorobots for Microplastics Remediation

This review highlights how magnetically controlled nanorobots — functionalized with hydrophobic coatings, biochar, and carbon-based materials — can remove microplastics from water with efficiencies exceeding 90% in minutes. Bioinspired designs mimicking biological swarm behavior offer reusable, eco-friendly alternatives to conventional remediation strategies.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Nano-Technological Bioremediation: Revolutionizing Environmental Cleanup

This review explores how combining nanotechnology with bioremediation improves the ability to clean up environmental pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and organic chemicals. Nano-enabled bioremediation systems can enhance the efficiency of microbial degradation and contaminant capture in polluted soils and water.

2023 International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Self-propelled micro/nanomotors for removal of insoluble water contaminants: microplastics and oil spills

This frontier review examines the capabilities of self-propelled micro/nanomotors for removing oil spills and plastic-based pollutants from water, discussing working mechanisms, current limitations, and future research directions for deploying these autonomous systems in environmental remediation.

2021 Environmental Science Nano 41 citations