Photocatalytic Iron Oxide Micro-Swimmers for Environmental Remediation

Harvesting energy from photochemical reactions has long been studied as an efficient means of renewable energy, a topic that is increasingly gaining importance also for motion at the microscale. Iron oxide has been a material of interest in recent studies. Thus, in this work different synthesis methods and encapsulation techniques were used to try and optimize the photo-catalytic properties of iron oxide colloids. Photodegradation experiments were carried out following the encapsulation of the nanoparticles and the Fenton effect was also verified. The end goal would be to use the photochemical degradation of peroxide to propel an array of swimmers in a controlled manner while utilizing the Fenton effect for the degradation of dyes or waste in wastewater remediation.