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Czech scientists have developed magnetic microrobots that can capture microplastics from contaminated water and soil, with laboratory tests showing removal of up to 94% of polystyrene and 89% of PET from water within one hour. The microrobots combine layered MXene particles with magnetic nickel nanoparticles. MXene attracts and traps plastic particles, while the magnetic nickel allows researchers to control the robots using rotating magnetic fields. In contaminated water, the moving robot swarms removed about 94% of test polystyrene particles and 89% of PET. In model soil, they removed about 81% of polystyrene and 72% of PET. The active movement was important. Researchers found that magnetically controlled robots performed better than the same MXene material relying on passive adsorption because the robots could move through water and tiny water-filled gaps in soil. The technology could offer a new approach to microplastic cleanup, especially because these particles can become trapped in soil and are difficult to collect using conventional methods. However, the results are still limited to laboratory testing. Researchers say real-world trials are needed, while potential issues include metal-ion leaching and incomplete retrieval of the robots. If the technology can scale beyond the lab, microscopic robot swarms could become another tool for tackling plastic pollution in water and soil. What are your thoughts on this? 🤔💬 Source: The Economic Times (https://lnkd.in/gcdA_ekm) Curious about where AI is headed? 🤖 Follow Future AI to keep your edge over the competition #AI #Robotics #Microplastics #Nanotechnology #FutureAI ♻️ Repost if useful