A magnetic sponge that pulls invisible microplastics and PFAS out of water in minutes

Some of the most worrying pollutants in our water are the ones we cannot see. Micro- and nanoplastics have turned up in rivers, oceans, drinking water and even human blood, and PFAS — the so-called "forever chemicals" — resist breaking down for generations. On July 23, 2026, researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne announced a material designed to sweep several of these contaminants out of water at once, publishing their work in the Chemical Engineering Journal.

The invention is a magnetic adsorbent built around a metal-organic framework, an ultra-porous crystalline material whose vast internal surface gives pollutants an enormous amount of area to stick to. Stirred into contaminated water, it grabs onto the offending particles; then, because the material is magnetic, the whole load can be lifted straight back out with a magnet, no fine filtration required. In laboratory testing it removed more than 95% of micro- and nanoplastics — including particles as tiny as 30 nanometres — within an hour, reaching roughly 80% removal in the first 15 minutes. It also captured some PFAS compounds along with heavy metals such as mercury, chromium and copper, dyes, and even the drug ibuprofen.

“Micro- and nanoplastics have turned up in rivers, oceans, drinking water and even human blood, and PFAS — the so-called "forever chemicals" — resist breaking down for generations.”

Just as important as what the material does is how easily it can be made. The team developed a room-temperature synthesis process that increases output fivefold while cutting the use of costly inputs, with a cost analysis suggesting production about 75% cheaper than earlier versions. That matters enormously, because a brilliant water-treatment material is only useful if it can be manufactured in the quantities and at the price real utilities can afford.

The research was led by Professor Nicky Eshtiaghi and Dr. Muhammad Haris of RMIT's School of Engineering, together with Associate Professor Nasir Mahmood of the School of Science, and it builds on the group's earlier breakthrough in microplastics removal, extending it to far smaller particles and messier, more complex wastewater.

There is still the familiar journey from lab bench to treatment plant — proving the adsorbent at scale, confirming it can be reused reliably and integrating it into existing infrastructure. But the direction is deeply encouraging. Contaminants once dismissed as too small or too stubborn to catch are being pulled out of water by a reusable material that is cheap enough to make sense in the real world. That is exactly the kind of practical, planet-friendly chemistry that can help keep our water clean for the people and ecosystems that depend on it.