Resume

         

               Nowadays, water pollution caused by organic pollutants (plastic bags, oils, pesticides, etc.) is becoming more and more critical. In this context, photocatalysis, which is an advanced oxidation process involving a solid photocatalyst and photons, allows the complete mineralization of organic pollutants into CO2 and other mineral compounds.                Photocatalytic processes quite often use semiconductor nanoparticles to achieve complete degradation of organic molecules. However, these nanoparticles can form aggregates, accumulate in water, and then lead to another form of nanomaterial pollution. The immobilization of these nanoparticles on micro-platforms whose movement can be controlled makes it possible to overcome this drawback. In this context, the aim of my doctoral thesis is to develop a new process allowing to obtain micro-swimmers having magnetic and semiconductor properties. These micro-swimmers will be used for photocatalytic depollution. For this, 3D microstructures, based on a photopolymer doped with magnetic nanoparticles, will be manufactured by 3D lithography. The presence of the magnetic nanoparticles will allow the micro-helices to move in a spatially controlled manner under the action of an external magnetic field. Thus, it will be possible to control the movement of these micro-helices in a liquid medium. The surface of these micro-helices will be then functionalized to attach semiconductor nanoparticles (TiO2, ZnO, etc.) which allow the micro-helice to act as a photocatalytic material.  

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Publications  

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