Tiny Microbots Clean Waste Waters

Apr-14-16 Tiny graphene-based microbots able to remove heavy metals from water could offer a new solution for cleaning industrial waste waters.

The bots, developed by a team from the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, are made up of tiny tubes of layered material. The outer graphene layer bonds with lead ions, while the middle nickel layer allows the bots to be controlled by magnetic field. The middle layer consists of platinum, which reacts with hydrogen peroxide in the water to propel the robot forward.

The microbots are meant to work as a swarm, and can be recovered and reused multiple times.

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