• • Chemical propulsion and photocatalytic degradation dominate current MNR research, as revealed by data-driven quantitative analysis, indicating a focused research trajectory toward energy-efficient and reactive systems.
• • Self-driven magnetorobots achieve recyclable and scalable micro/nanoplastic removal from nonmarine waters, addressing a critical gap in conventional filtration methods that fail to capture particles below 5 mm.
• • Metal-organic framework-based autonomous microrobots enable radioactive uranium preconcentration, demonstrating high selectivity and efficiency in treating radionuclide-contaminated wastewater, a niche where traditional sorbents are often inefficient.
• • Zerovalent-iron/platinum Janus micromotors with spatially separated functionalities achieve efficient water decontamination, exemplifying the design principle of integrating catalytic and adsorptive domains to enhance overall removal kinetics.