Using magnetic rust nanoparticles to clean water | Headline Science

The water in our oceans, lakes and rivers can become polluted with a variety of contaminants, creating a need for a simple and cheap cleaning method. One team of researchers is designing magnetic nanoparticles that can target specific pollutants like estrogen hormones, which are carried into waterways by wastewater and may be harmful to aquatic life. The particles are made from iron oxide, which most of us know as rust, and researchers can modify the surface of the particles to grab on to various pollutants. Then, a magnet can pull the particles out of the water, along with any pollutants clinging to them. The work is being presented at ACS Fall 2023, a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

“Smart rust to clean water from hormones”
Aug. 16, 2023
Presenter: Lukas Müller
Principal Investigator: Marcus Halik, Ph.D.

To see an interview with the researchers, go to Cleaning water with ‘smart rust’ and ...
To read an ACS press release about this research, go to https://www.acs.org/pressroom/newsrel...

Hadley Marcek, Ph.D., contributed research for this video.

CREDITS
Writer/Producer: Kerri Jansen
Editor/Producer: Darren Weaver
Narrator: Allison Tau
Executive Producer: Matthew Radcliff

Research Videos:
Targeting diesel video:
Sarcletti et al., Adv. Funct. Mater., 2019.
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201805742

Targeting microplastics video:
Sarcletti et al., Mater. Today, 2021.
DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2021.02.020

Nanoparticle simulation video:
Dustin Vivod, Ph.D., and Dirk Zahn, Ph.D.
Computer Chemistry Center
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Additional Video: Getty Images, Storyblocks, Shutterstock

Music: “Shadowed” by John B. Lund from Epidemic Sound

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ACS Fall 2023 Media Briefings:
https://www.acs.org/acsfall2023briefings

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