Highly Efficient Light-Driven TiO2-Au Janus Micromotors

作者：Dong, Renfeng; Zhang, Qilu; Gao, Wei; Pei, Allen; Ren, Biye^*

来源：ACS Nano, 2016, 10(1): 839-844.

DOI：10.1021/acsnano.5b05940

• Janus micormotors
• self-electrophoresis
• TiO2
• light driven
• fuel free

A highly efficient light-driven photocatalytic TiO2-Au Janus micromotor with wireless steering and velocity control is described. Unlike chemically propelled micromotors which commonly require the addition of surfactants or toxic chemical fuels, the fuel-free Janus micromotor (diameter similar to 1.0 mu m) can be powered in pure water under an extremely low ultraviolet light intensity (2.5 x 10(-3) W/cm(2)), and with 40 x 10(-3) W/cm(2), they can reach a high speed of 25 body length/s, which is comparable to common Pt-based chemically induced self-electrophoretic Janus micromotors. The photocatalytic propulsion can be switched on and off by incident light modulation. In addition, the speed of the photo catalytic TiO2-Au Janus micromotor can be accelerated by increasing the light intensity or by adding low concentrations of chemical fuel H2O2 (i.e., 0.1%). The attractive fuel-free propulsion performance, fast movement triggering response, low light energy requirement, and precise motion control of the TiO2-Au Janus photocatalytic micromotor hold considerable promise for diverse practical applications.

• 出版日期2016-1
• 单位华南理工大学