Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

One-step synthesis of PCL/Mg Janus micromotor for precious metal ion sensing, removal and recycling

  • Metals
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The field of the micromotor has undergone continuous progresses, especially in the environmental remediation application. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are few micromotors which can sense, remove and recycle metal ions simultaneously. In this paper, we develop a Janus micromotor consisting of polycaprolactone (PCL) and magnesium (Mg) microparticle synthesized by one-step method. Due to the displacement reaction between Mg and the precious metal ions, the resulting micromotor can be self-propelled in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution. Since the motion velocity is highly dependent on both ion species and their concentrations, the micromotor can function as a motion-based metal ion sensor with good selectivity and sensitivity. In addition, since Mg alone is capable of propelling the whole structure in the presence of chloride ion (Cl−), the water-driven PCL/Mg micromotor exhibits higher efficiency when utilized in noble metal removal and recycling as compared to that of the stationary one. We thus believe the one-step fabrication, precious metal ion sensing, removal and recycling capabilities make the current micromotor potentially attractive for polluted water monitoring and treatment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Scheme 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lin XK, Wu ZG, Wu YJ, Xuan MJ, He Q (2016) Self-propelled micro-/nanomotors based on controlled assembled architectures. Adv Mater 28:1060–1072

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Dong RF, Zhang QL, Gao W, Pei A, Ren BY (2016) Highly efficient light-driven TiO2–Au Janus micromotors. ACS Nano 10:839–844

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ibele M, Mallouk TE, Sen A (2009) Schooling behavior of light-powered autonomous micromotors in water. Angew Chem Int Ed 48:3308–3312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang W, Duan WT, Ahmed S, Mallouk TE, Sen A (2013) Small power: autonomous nano- and micromotors propelled by self-generated gradients. Nano Today 8:531–554

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wu Y, Si T, Shao J, Wu Z, He Q (2016) Near-infrared light-driven Janus capsule motors: fabrication, propulsion, and simulation. Nano Res 9:3747–3756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Song MM, Cheng MJ, Ju GN, Zhang YJ, Shi F (2014) Converting chemical energy into electricity through a functionally cooperating device with diving-surfacing cycles. Adv Mater 26:7059–7063

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhao GJ, Sanchez S, Schmidt OG, Pumera M (2013) Poisoning of bubble propelled catalytic micromotors: the chemical environment matters. Nanoscale 5:2909–2914

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wu ZG, Wu YJ, He WP, Lin XK, Sun JM, He Q (2013) Self-propelled polymer-based multilayer nanorockets for transportation and drug release. Angew Chem Int Ed 52:7000–7003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang L, Song MM, Xiao M, Shi F (2016) Diving-surfacing smart locomotion driven by a CO2-forming reaction, with applications to minigenerators. Adv Funct Mater 26:851–856

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Mou FZ, Chen CR, Ma HR, Yin YX, Wu QZ, Guan JG (2013) Self-propelled micromotors driven by the magnesium-water reaction and their hemolytic properties. Angew Chem Int Ed 52:7208–7212

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ma X, Hahn K, Sanchez S (2015) Catalytic mesoporous Janus nanomotors for active cargo delivery. J Am Chem Soc 137:4976–4979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Liu LM, Liu M, Dong YG et al (2015) Preparation, heat-enabled shape variation, and cargo manipulation of polymer-based micromotors. J Mater Sci 51:1496–1503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9470-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. de Avila BE, Angsantikul P, Li J et al (2017) Micromotor-enabled active drug delivery for in vivo treatment of stomach infection. Nat Commun 8:272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Wang XD, Duan YQ, Li CX, Lu Y (2015) Synthesis, self-assembly, and formation of polymer vesicle hydrogels of thermoresponsive copolymers. J Mater Sci 50:3541–3548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-8911-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kagan D, Calvo-Marzal P, Balasubramanian S et al (2009) Chemical sensing based on catalytic nanomotors: motion-based detection of trace silver. J Am Chem Soc 131:12082–12083

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Moo JGS, Wang H, Zhao GJ, Pumera M (2014) Biomimetic artificial inorganic enzyme-free self-propelled microfish robot for selective detection of Pb2+ in water. Chem Eur J 20:4292–4296

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Wang H, Khezri B, Pumera M (2016) Catalytic DNA-functionalized self-propelled micromachines for environmental remediation. Chem 1:473–481

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Jurado-Sanchez B, Pacheco M, Rojo J, Escarpa A (2017) Magnetocatalytic graphene quantum dots Janus micromotors for bacterial endotoxin detection. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 56:6957–6961

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Liu M, Sun YY, Wang TP et al (2016) A biodegradable, all-polymer micromotor for gas sensing applications. J Mater Chem C 4:5945–5952

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Rojas D, Jurado-Sanchez B, Escarpa A (2016) “Shoot and sense” Janus micromotors-based strategy for the simultaneous degradation and detection of persistent organic pollutants in food and biological samples. Anal Chem 88:4153–4160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Vilela D, Parmar J, Zeng Y, Zhao Y, Sanchez S (2016) Graphene-based microbots for toxic heavy metal removal and recovery from water. Nano Lett 16:2860–2866

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Uygun DA, Jurado-Sánchez B, Uygun M, Wang J (2016) Self-propelled chelation platforms for efficient removal of toxic metals. Environ Sci-Nano 3:559–566

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Jurado-Sanchez B, Sattayasamitsathit S, Gao W et al (2015) Self-propelled activated carbon Janus micromotors for efficient water purification. Small 11:499–506

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Dong B, Smith ME, Wnek GE (2009) Encapsulation of multiple biological compounds within a single electrospun fiber. Small 5:1508–1512

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Chen C, Karshalev E, Guan JG, Wang J (2018) Magnesium-based micromotors: water-powered propulsion, multifunctionality, and biomedical and environmental applications. Small 14:1704252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Mou FZ, Chen CR, Zhong Q, Yin YX, Ma HR, Guan JG (2014) Autonomous motion and temperature-controlled drug delivery of Mg/Pt-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Janus micromotors driven by simulated body fluid and blood plasma. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 6:9897–9903

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Gao W, Feng XM, Pei A, Gu YE, Li JX, Wang J (2013) Seawater-driven magnesium based Janus micromotors for environmental remediation. Nanoscale 5:4696–4700

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Li JX, Singh VV, Sattayasamitsathit S et al (2014) Water-driven micromotors for rapid photocatalytic degradation of biological and chemical warfare agents. ACS Nano 8:11118–11125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Weiss J (1935) Catalytic decomposition of acid hydrogen peroxide solutions on platinum, iridium, palladium and gold surfaces. Trans Faraday Soc 31:1947–1957

    Google Scholar 

  30. Norio T, Zhang GF, Purnendu KD (2004) Catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by a flow-through self-regulating platinum black heater. Anal Chim Acta 510:9–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Mckee DW (1969) Catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by metals and alloys of the platinum group. J Catal 14:355–364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Turkevich J (1985) Colloidal gold part ii. Gold Bull 18:125–131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Ishida T, Kuroda K, Kinoshita N, Minagawa W, Haruta M (2008) Direct deposition of gold nanoparticles onto polymer beads and glucose oxidation with H2O2. J Colloid Interface Sci 323:105–111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National MCF Energy R&D Program 2018YFE0306105, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21574094) and the Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology. It was also supported by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), the 111 Project, Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices and the Fund for Excellent Creative Research Teams of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Dongmei Zhang and Dan Wang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Dongmei Zhang, Dan Wang, Jieai Li, Xiaoyi Xu, Hui Zhang, Bo Song & Bin Dong

  2. School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, 523808, People’s Republic of China

    Ruomeng Duan

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252000, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Dafeng Zhang

Authors
  1. Dongmei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jieai Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaoyi Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hui Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ruomeng Duan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Bo Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Dafeng Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Bin Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jieai Li, Hui Zhang or Bin Dong.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, D., Wang, D., Li, J. et al. One-step synthesis of PCL/Mg Janus micromotor for precious metal ion sensing, removal and recycling. J Mater Sci 54, 7322–7332 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03390-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03390-2

Search

Navigation