Colloidal Engineering of Microplastic Capture with Biodegradable Soft Dendritic “Microcleaners”

Abstract

The introduction of colloidal principles that enable efficient microplastic collection from aquatic environments is a goal of great environmental importance. Here, we present a novel method of microplastic (MP) collection using biodegradable hydrogel soft dendritic colloids (hSDCs). These dendritic colloids have abundant nanofibrils and a large surface area, which provide an abundance of interfacial interactions and excellent networking capabilities, allowing for the capture of plastic particles and other contaminants. Here, we show how the polymer composition and morphology of the hSDCs can impact the capture of microplastics modeled by latex microbeads. Additionally, we use colloidal DLVO theory to interpret the capture efficiencies of microbeads of different sizes and surface functional groups. The results demonstrate the microplastic remediation efficiency of hydrogel dendricolloids and highlight the primary factors involved in the microbead interactions and adsorption. On a practical level, the results show that the development of environmentally benign microcleaners based on naturally sourced materials could present a sustainable solution for microplastic cleanup.

Chemical programming of solubilizing, non-equilibrium active droplets

“…In the future, we envision using this fundamental chemical knowledge to guide the construction of controllable active droplets for a variety of uses such as sensing [58][59][60] and environmental remediation. 61,62 We also expect that studying the non-equilibrium properties of chemically minimal non-equilibrium droplets will help spur new advances in understanding more chemically complex multi-phase systems including in cell biology or origin-of-life theory.…”