The presence of micro plastics in the oceans threatens marine biodiversity and also has an impact on humans, who consume fish and seafood that have ingested these tiny pieces of pollution scattered around the four corners of the world. Size is the impact of this environmental problem that micro plastic has already been found even in our bloodstream. To help remove this pollutant from the oceans, scientists have designed a small "robot fish" capable of absorbing this material.

"It is of great importance to develop a robot to accurately collect and accurately collect micro polluting plastics from the aquatic environment. As far as we know, this is the first example of such soft robots," said Yuyan Wang, a researcher at sichuan University's Polymer Research Institute and one of the lead authors of the study, published in the journal Nano Letters.

The robot fish is only 13 mm long and, thanks to a lightweight laser system present on its tail, can swim and hit the fins at almost 30 mm per second - similar plankton speed in the moving water. Once at sea, the robot can cling to the floating micro plastics and even fix itself if damaged during the solo expedition.

The new artifact is made of a material inspired by elements that come from the sea, such as mother-of-pearl (shell coating of molluscshells), and is capable of carrying up to 5 kg of weight, according to the researchers. As the dyes, antibiotics and heavy metals present in micro plastics have strong chemical bonds and electrostatic interactions with the materials of the robot fish, it manages to attract and absorb this material, cleaning the seas through which it passes.

Wang explains that at the moment the robot, although very promising, is just a prototype and that more research needs to be done for the technology to be applied in the real world. "I think nanotechnology is a great promise for adsorption, collection and detection of pollutants, improving intervention efficiency and reducing operating costs," Wang told The Guardian.

Source: Um só Planeta