Development of Cost-Effective, Magnetically Recoverable Biocatalytic Micromotors for CO2 Mineralization
ProgettoThis proposal aims to develop and validate a novel platform of autonomous micromotors for CO2 capture. The work is structured around the following SMART objectives:
1. To establish a scalable protocol for the template-assisted electrodeposition of multi-layer micromotors composed of a conductive polymer support (e.g., Polypyrrole - Ppy, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) - PEDOT, Bis- Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) - Bis-EDOT), a non-noble metal catalytic layer (MnO2, ZnO), and a ferromagnetic guidance layer (Ni, Fe).
2. To systematically characterize the morphological, compositional, and magnetic properties of the fabricated micromotors and optimize synthesis parameters (e.g., layer thickness, deposition potential) to maximize yield, uniformity, and propulsive performance.
3. To functionalize the micromotor surface with carbonic anhydrase (CA) via covalent coupling and to quantify the propulsion efficiency and trajectory of the motors in the presence of H2O2 fuel using optical microscopy and particle tracking analysis.
4. To evaluate the CO2 mineralization efficiency of the functionalized micromotors, benchmarking their performance against static (non-propelled) controls and previously reported Pt-based systems, and to demonstrate their reusability through multiple cycles of magnetic recovery.
1. To establish a scalable protocol for the template-assisted electrodeposition of multi-layer micromotors composed of a conductive polymer support (e.g., Polypyrrole - Ppy, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) - PEDOT, Bis- Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) - Bis-EDOT), a non-noble metal catalytic layer (MnO2, ZnO), and a ferromagnetic guidance layer (Ni, Fe).
2. To systematically characterize the morphological, compositional, and magnetic properties of the fabricated micromotors and optimize synthesis parameters (e.g., layer thickness, deposition potential) to maximize yield, uniformity, and propulsive performance.
3. To functionalize the micromotor surface with carbonic anhydrase (CA) via covalent coupling and to quantify the propulsion efficiency and trajectory of the motors in the presence of H2O2 fuel using optical microscopy and particle tracking analysis.
4. To evaluate the CO2 mineralization efficiency of the functionalized micromotors, benchmarking their performance against static (non-propelled) controls and previously reported Pt-based systems, and to demonstrate their reusability through multiple cycles of magnetic recovery.