News | IISc Researchers Develop Sustainable Hydrogel to Combat Microplastic Pollution
Microplastics, the minuscule plastic particles pervading water bodies worldwide, present a significant threat to human health and the environment. These imperceptible fragments infiltrate our bodies through drinking water, elevating the risk of illnesses, while imperiling aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, from polar ice caps to oceanic depths.
In a groundbreaking effort to address this pressing environmental challenge, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have engineered a sustainable hydrogel capable of effectively removing microplastics from water. Led by Suryasarathi Bose, Professor at the Department of Materials Engineering, the research team devised a novel hydrogel equipped with a distinctive polymer network intertwined to entrap and degrade microplastic contaminants under UV light exposure.
Traditionally, efforts to tackle microplastic pollution relied on filtering membranes, but these proved unsustainable due to clogging. Consequently, the IISc team turned to 3D hydrogels, crafting a sophisticated material comprising three polymer layers – chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyaniline – interwoven into an Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) architecture. Infused with copper substitute polyoxometalate (Cu-POM) nanoclusters, serving as catalysts, the hydrogel effectively harnesses UV light to degrade microplastics.
To replicate real-world scenarios, the researchers synthesized microplastics from household plastic products, such as food container lids, into polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene variants. Tracking the hydrogel's efficacy, Soumi Dutta, first author of the study published in Nanoscale, employed a fluorescent dye to monitor microplastic adsorption and degradation across varying conditions.
Remarkably, the hydrogel demonstrated exceptional efficiency, removing approximately 95% and 93% of the targeted microplastics under near-neutral pH conditions. Rigorous testing confirmed the material's durability and resilience across diverse temperatures, withstanding up to five cycles of microplastic removal without significant degradation.
Highlighting the material's sustainability, Bose underscored its potential for repurposing into carbon nanomaterials for heavy metal removal post-use. Looking ahead, the research team aims to collaborate on scaling up the hydrogel technology for widespread deployment in cleansing microplastics from diverse water sources, marking a pivotal stride towards mitigating this pervasive environmental menace.