Micromotors of MnO2 for the Recovery of Microplastics

Cervantes, Oscar; Valtierra-Montiel, Claudia; Sampedro-Plata, Laura; Casillas, Norberto; Menendez, Nieves; Herrasti, Pilar

doi:10.3390/mi15010141

Open AccessArticle

Micromotors of MnO₂ for the Recovery of Microplastics

by

Oscar Cervantes

^1,2,

Claudia Valtierra-Montiel

³,

Laura Sampedro-Plata

¹,

Norberto Casillas

²,

Nieves Menendez

¹

and

Pilar Herrasti

^1,*

¹

Department of Applied Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Madrid, Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, 28049 Madrid, Spain

²

Department of Chemistry, Center of Exact Sciences and Engineering (CUCEI), University of Guadalajara, Marcelino García Barragán 1421, Col. Olímpica, Guadalajara 44430, Jalisco, Mexico

³

Master’s Program in Nanomaterials Science and Technology, Natural and Exact Sciences Division, University of Guanajuato, Noria Alta S/N, Guanajuato 36050, Guanajuato, Mexico

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Micromachines 2024, 15(1), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010141

Submission received: 14 November 2023 / Revised: 11 January 2024 / Accepted: 12 January 2024 / Published: 17 January 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fundamentals and Catalytic Applications of Oxide-Based Materials)

Download

Browse Figures

Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

Plastics, primarily microplastics, are among the greatest pollutants in aquatic environments. Their removal and/or degradation in these environments are crucial to ensure an optimal future of these ecosystems. In this work, MnO₂ particles were synthesized and characterized for the removal of polystyrene microplastics as a model. MnO₂ catalyzes the peroxide reaction, resulting in the formation of oxygen bubbles that propel the pollutants to the surface, achieving removal efficiencies of up to 80%. To achieve this, hydrothermal synthesis was employed using various methods. Parameters such as MnO₂, pH, microplastics, and H₂O₂ concentrations were varied to determine the optimal conditions for microplastics recovering. The ideal conditions for a low microplastic concentrations (10 mg L⁻¹) are 0.2 g L⁻¹ MnO₂, 1.6% of H₂O₂ and 0.01 triton as a surfactant. In these conditions, the micromotors can recover approximately 80% of 300 nm sized polystyrene microplastic within 40 min.

Keywords: manganese oxide; polystyrene; micromotors; recovering

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Cervantes, O.; Valtierra-Montiel, C.; Sampedro-Plata, L.; Casillas, N.; Menendez, N.; Herrasti, P. Micromotors of MnO₂ for the Recovery of Microplastics. Micromachines 2024, 15, 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010141

AMA Style

Cervantes O, Valtierra-Montiel C, Sampedro-Plata L, Casillas N, Menendez N, Herrasti P. Micromotors of MnO₂ for the Recovery of Microplastics. Micromachines. 2024; 15(1):141. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010141

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cervantes, Oscar, Claudia Valtierra-Montiel, Laura Sampedro-Plata, Norberto Casillas, Nieves Menendez, and Pilar Herrasti. 2024. "Micromotors of MnO₂ for the Recovery of Microplastics" Micromachines 15, no. 1: 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010141

APA Style

Cervantes, O., Valtierra-Montiel, C., Sampedro-Plata, L., Casillas, N., Menendez, N., & Herrasti, P. (2024). Micromotors of MnO₂ for the Recovery of Microplastics. Micromachines, 15(1), 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15010141

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Micromotors of MnO₂ for the Recovery of Microplastics

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI