Titanium dioxide micromotors: Applied to removal of emerging contaminants

The improper disposal of female hormones in waste water treatment plant (WWTP) have been in the spotlight of several researches in the last decades, mainly because the improper disposal of such substances occasion disturbances in biological systems and disrupt the human health[1]. However, the elimination of these hormones in WWTP still limited, primarily by conventional treatment methods, that are inefficient against these emerging pollutants (EP)[2], and to solve the hormone problem, this project aims to purify the water in WWTP from EP by using micromotors based on titanium dioxide (TiO₂)[3] and Au in association of Ni, chitosan and tyrosinase. The micromotors that will be used are made with simple techniques (atomic layer deposition and spin coating) and characterized by X rays diffraction, Fourier transforms in infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy, hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance and viscosity. These characterization techniques help to find the best synergy between the micromotors components, leading to micro machines to speed up the removal of emerging contaminants. Shorten, with the titanium dioxide micromotors system it is expected to eliminate most of the emergent pollutant, 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), in a fast, efficient, specific, non-toxic and yet renewable way. (author)