We present wastewater-mediated activation of catalytic micromotors for the degradation of nitroaromatic pollutants in water. These next-generation hybrid micromotors are fabricated by growing catalytically active Pd particles over thin-metal films (Ti/Fe/Cr), which are then rolled-up into self-propelled tubular microjets. Coupling of catalytically active Pd particles inside the micromotor surface in the presence of a 4-nitrophenol pollutant (with NaBH₄ as reductant) results in autonomous motion via the bubble–recoil propulsion mechanism such that the target pollutant mixture (wastewater) is consumed as a fuel, thereby generating nontoxic byproducts. This study also offers several distinct advantages over its predecessors including no pH/temperature manipulation, limited stringent process control and complete destruction of the target pollutant mixture. The improved intermixing ability of the micromotors caused faster degradation ca. 10 times higher as compared to its nonmotile counterpart. The high catalytic efficiency obtained via a wet-lab approach has promising potential in creating hybrid micromotors comprising of multicatalytic systems assembled into one entity for sustainable environmental remediation and theranostics.

中文翻译：

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废水介导的微电机激活，以实现高效水清洗

我们目前废水介导的催化微电机的活化，以降解水中的硝基芳香污染物。这些下一代混合微电机是通过在薄金属膜（Ti / Fe / Cr）上生长具有催化活性的Pd颗粒制成的，然后将其卷成自走式管状微喷射器。在4-硝基苯酚污染物（与NaBH ₄作为还原剂）通过气泡-反冲推进机制导致自主运动，从而将目标污染物混合物（废水）作为燃料消耗，从而产生无毒的副产物。这项研究还提供了一些优于其前任产品的独特优势，包括无需进行pH /温度控制，有限的严格过程控制以及对目标污染物混合物的完全销毁。微型电动机的改进的混合能力导致了更快的降解。相比其非运动能力同类产品高10倍。通过湿实验室方法获得的高催化效率在创建混合微电机方面具有广阔的潜力，该混合电机包括将多催化系统组装成一个实体，以实现可持续的环境修复和热力学。