Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Design and Control of the Micromotor Swarm Toward Smart Applications

This review covers recent advances in the design and control of micro- and nanomotor swarms, examining how different energy sources and cooperative behaviors enable collective motion for smart applications. Researchers discuss how micromotors mimicking natural microorganism swarms could be applied to environmental remediation including microplastic removal.

2021 Advanced Intelligent Systems 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Photophoretic MoS2–Fe2O3 Piranha Micromotors for Collective Dynamic Microplastics Removal

Researchers developed novel MoS2-Fe2O3 micromotors that use light-driven motion to capture and degrade polystyrene microplastics in water. The micromotors demonstrated schooling behavior under solar light and achieved significant microplastic removal without requiring chemical fuel, suggesting a promising approach for environmental microplastic remediation.

2024 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Solitary and Collective Motion Behaviors of TiO2 Microrobots under the Coupling of Multiple Light Fields

Researchers developed TiO2 microrobots that exhibit controllable individual and collective movement under multiple light fields, with potential applications in environmental cleanup tasks including microplastic removal from water.

2022 Micromachines 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Self-Propelled Janus Microdimer Swimmers under a Rotating Magnetic Field

Researchers designed self-propelling microscopic swimmers powered by rotating magnetic fields, with potential uses in medicine and environmental monitoring. While not directly about microplastics, this micro-robotics technology could eventually be applied to detecting or removing contaminants at the microscale.

2019 Nanomaterials 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Propulsion Mechanisms in Magnetic Microrobotics: From Single Microrobots to Swarms

This review examines the propulsion mechanisms of magnetic microrobots, from individual units to coordinated swarms, including their structural design and control methods. Researchers discuss how these tiny robots can be directed using external magnetic fields for tasks like targeted drug delivery and water purification. The technology has potential applications for environmental cleanup, including removing microplastics and other pollutants from water.

2025 Micromachines 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetically steerable iron oxides-manganese dioxide core–shell micromotors for organic and microplastic removals

Magnetically steerable iron oxide-manganese dioxide core-shell micromotors were developed for active removal of contaminants from water. The micromotors could be guided using an external magnetic field to collect and remove pollutants, including microplastics, in a targeted and recoverable manner.

2020 Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 142 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetically DrivenLiving Microrobot Swarms for AquaticMicro- and Nanoplastic Cleanup

Researchers engineered magnetotactic bacteria-based microrobots capable of three-dimensional swarming motions guided by magnetic fields to capture micro- and nanoplastics from water. The living microrobots successfully captured plastics from commercial products including polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and rubber microplastics, offering a bio-inspired cleanup strategy.

2025 Figshare
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

Recent Advances in Microrobots Powered by Multi-Physics Field for Biomedical and Environmental Applications

Not relevant to microplastics — this review surveys multi-physics-field-driven microrobots for biomedical and environmental applications such as targeted drug delivery and pollutant degradation, with microplastic removal mentioned only in passing as one of many potential environmental uses.

2024 Micromachines 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
Article Tier 2

Multimodal collective swimming of magnetically articulated modular nanocomposite robots

Researchers built small magnetic robots from carbon nanotube frameworks coated in a magnetic polymer composite, demonstrating that groups of these robots can swim cooperatively at high speed and generate water vortices capable of collecting and transporting floating microplastics — pointing toward collective robotic approaches for environmental cleanup.

2022 Nature Communications 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetically DrivenLiving Microrobot Swarms for AquaticMicro- and Nanoplastic Cleanup

This is a duplicate entry for the magnetically driven living microrobot study (same paper as ID 9516), describing bacterial microrobots with 3D swarming motion for aquatic micro- and nanoplastic cleanup guided by magnetic fields.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

A Maze in Plastic Wastes: Autonomous Motile Photocatalytic Microrobots against Microplastics

Researchers developed sunlight-powered microrobots that can autonomously navigate through water channels, capture microplastic particles, and break them down through photocatalysis. The tiny robots combine photocatalytic and magnetic materials, allowing them to self-propel under visible light and be precisely guided with magnets. The study demonstrates a novel, energy-efficient approach to actively seeking out and degrading microplastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2021 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 124 citations
Article Tier 2

Collective motion of Nafion-based micromotors in water

This paper is not directly about microplastics — it describes self-propelling microswimmers made from Nafion polymer that move through ion exchange in water, with potential applications in water remediation.

2023 Faraday Discussions 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetically Driven Living Microrobot Swarms for Aquatic Micro- and Nanoplastic Cleanup

Scientists developed tiny magnetically controlled bacterial microrobots that can swarm together to capture and remove micro- and nanoplastics from water. These living robots use natural swimming motion combined with magnetic guidance to collect plastic particles from various commercial products in aquatic environments. This innovative technology could lead to new ways of cleaning up microplastic pollution before it enters drinking water and the food chain.

2025 ACS Nano 6 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

Non-equilibrium Colloidal Phenomena in Magnetic Fields and Photoillumination: From Controlling Living Microbots to Understanding Microplastics

This dissertation investigates non-equilibrium behavior of colloidal particles under magnetic fields and light, demonstrating control of colloidal assembly and living organism motility via ferrofluids, while also developing physical insights into how microplastics interact with biological membranes in out-of-equilibrium conditions.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Self-driven magnetorobots for recyclable and scalable micro/nanoplastic removal from nonmarine waters

Researchers developed self-driven magnetorobots using magnetizable ion-exchange resin spheres that can dynamically remove micro- and nanoplastics from nonmarine waters, overcoming limitations of conventional chemical flocculation and physical filtration methods.

2022 Science Advances 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Biohybrid Magnetically Driven Microrobots for Sustainable Removal of Micro/Nanoplastics from the Aquatic Environment

Researchers developed biohybrid microrobots by coating biological cells with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, enabling them to capture and remove micro- and nanoplastics from water using magnetic steering. The microrobots effectively captured plastic particles through electrostatic interactions and could be collected with a magnet after use. The study presents an innovative and sustainable approach to cleaning up plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2023 Advanced Functional Materials 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Micromotors of MnO2 for the Recovery of Microplastics

Researchers synthesized MnO2 particles and evaluated their use as micromotors powered by chemical reactions for the removal of microplastics from aquatic environments. The MnO2 micromotors demonstrated autonomous movement and effective capture of microplastic particles, offering a novel active remediation approach for plastic-contaminated water.

2024 Micromachines 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Magnetically DrivenLiving Microrobot Swarms for AquaticMicro- and Nanoplastic Cleanup

This is a duplicate entry for the magnetically driven living microrobot study (same paper as ID 9516), describing bacterial microrobots for aquatic micro- and nanoplastic cleanup.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Magnetically DrivenLiving Microrobot Swarms for AquaticMicro- and Nanoplastic Cleanup

This is a duplicate entry for the magnetically driven living microrobot study (same paper as ID 9516), describing bacterial microrobots for aquatic micro- and nanoplastic cleanup.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Ultrasensitive SERS detection and efficient flotation removal of nanoplastics from water using bubble-spouting micromotor swarms

Researchers developed magnetic Ag/Co micromotors that spout microbubbles and used them to simultaneously detect nanoplastics via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and remove them from large water volumes through bubble-assisted flotation, demonstrating a new integrated approach for nanoplastic remediation.

2025
Article Tier 2

Magnetically DrivenLiving Microrobot Swarms for AquaticMicro- and Nanoplastic Cleanup

This is a duplicate entry for the magnetically driven living microrobot study (same paper as ID 9516), describing bacterial microrobots for aquatic micro- and nanoplastic cleanup.

2025 Figshare