About This Project

Micro- and nanoplastics slip through most filters and accumulate in drinking water and ecosystems. I develop green iron-oxide nanoparticles that bind plastics and let you pull them out with a simple magnet — early tests show 100% microplastic and ~90% nanoplastic removal. My hypothesis is that iron-oxide nanoparticles will magnetically remove plastics. This project will optimize and test the method in real water samples to create an affordable, scalable purification tool.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Plastic pollution is a growing global crisis, and the smallest fragments—microplastics and nanoplastics—are the hardest to capture. These particles have been found in oceans, rivers, and drinking water, raising concerns for human health and ecosystems.Conventional filtration often fails to remove particles this small, which has led researchers to explore new approaches. Recent studies show that magnetic nanoparticles can bind and collect micro- and nanoplastics more efficiently than traditional methods. Building on this work, my hypothesis is that eco-friendly iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with hydrophobic coatings will selectively bind plastic particles and allow rapid magnetic removal from real water samples. This project will test that hypothesis and evaluate whether magnetic nanotechnology can offer a sustainable, low-cost solution for reducing plastic pollution.

What is the significance of this project?

This project targets one of the hardest aspects of plastic pollution: removing micro- and nanoplastics that current filtration systems cannot capture. By testing eco-friendly iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with hydrophobic coatings, the study will generate data on how efficiently these particles bind plastics, how quickly they can be magnetically collected, and whether they can be reused. Demonstrating strong performance in freshwater and seawater will show if this approach can overcome real-world challenges such as salinity, particle size variation, and mixed contaminants.

The results will guide improved water purification by identifying the best coating chemistry, magnetic strength, and particle size. They will also provide baseline data for scaling magnetic separation to larger systems. Ultimately, this project may provide evidence that magnetic nanotechnology can help reduce plastic contamination and improve water quality.

What are the goals of the project?

The main goal of this project is to develop an eco-friendly magnetic nanotechnology to efficiently remove microplastics and nanoplastics from water. I aim to synthesize and functionalize iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) with various polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based hydrophobic coatings and compare their magnetic and binding performance under air-free and ambient synthesis conditions. Nanoparticles will be characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Magnetic separation experiments will test removal efficiency in freshwater and seawater using fluorescent nanoplastics and polyethylene nurdles. The final goal is to identify the most efficient formulation and develop a small-scale magnetic water purification prototype.