Eco-friendly porous iron(iii) oxide micromotors for efficient wastewater cleaning†
Abstract
We present catalytic micromotors based on iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3) obtained by thermal decomposition of octahedral Prussian Blue (PB) microcrystals for efficient adsorption of organic pollutants in water. These porous Fe2O3 micromotors display effective autonomous motion in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and long stable movement life up to 2 hours. The speed of the micromotors greatly increases from 14.73 μm s−1 to 64.70 μm s−1 with the fuel concentration increased from 1% to 10%. Moreover, they show excellent performance in efficient adsorption of methyl blue (MB) and exhibit controllable motion under an external magnetic field owing to the presence of γ-Fe2O3. Such Fe2O3 micromotors hold great potential as an eco-friendly, recyclable and mass-produced candidate for water cleaning in environmental applications.