Chemists from the Prague University of Chemical Technology have created microrobots for the capture, separation, removal and extraction of radioactive uranium from water. The study is published in the journal ACS Publication.

As the basis for robots, researchers used organometallic scaffolds - porous compounds that can hold various substances inside themselves, including radioactive ones.

Researchers attached ZIF-8 “micromotors” to metal-organic frameworks. This modification made it possible to enhance the trapping properties of molecules and helped them capture more radioactive substances.

Then, iron atoms and iron oxide nanoparticles were added to the structure to stabilize it and make it magnetic. During the tests, microrobots removed 96% of uranium in an hour.

Earlier, HiTech described in detail what technologies for the utilization of nuclear fuel exist, which countries store such waste, and how to avoid leaks - such as those in Fukushima and Chernobyl.

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