Micro/nanomotors have fascinating capabilities to pick up, transport, and release various micro/nanocargoes because of the autonomous motion behaviors in liquid media, and can be used to perform complex tasks, including drug delivery, protein and cell separation, microsurgeries and environmental remediation, etc..1 However, the completion of these tasks at microscale requires the micromotors with reversible and wirelessly tunable speed and motion direction, which are at present too critical to develop. In this presentation, taking into account the excellent photocatalytic activity, low cost, and high stability of TiO2,2 we have developed a series of TiO2 based micro/nanomotors with light-controlled motion speed, direction and swarming behaviors. For example, we firstly demonstrate pure water-driven TiO2/Pt Janus nanomotors, and their light-controlled swarming and separation motion behaviors under the continuous or pulse irradiation as well as their motion behaviors regulated “on-the-fly” photocatalytic activities for degradation of organic pollutants. After that, we will show bubble-propelled single-component TiO2 tubular microengines, along with the reversible, swift and wireless modulation of the motion state and speed by regulating the UV irradiation. Finally, we are to highlight our recent exploitation of light-controlled isotropic TiO2 micro/nanomotors, which are powered by asymmetric surface photocatalytic reactions on the basis of the self-shielding effect of particles towards light. The as-designed isotropic micro/nanomotors are able to precisely control the motion direction and trajectory by modulating light, thus have unique advantages in their loading, transporting and delivering micro/nanocargoes, and can be used as micro/nanorobots to microengineer functional micro/nanodevices. Our results presented here not only can promote the design, large-scale preparation and practical application of micro/nanomotors, but also offer new strategies for water remediation,3 micro/nanosensors4 and microfactories, etc. References: (1) Mou, F.; et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 7208; Small 2015, DOI:10.1002/smll.201403372; ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 2014, 6, 9897. (2) Mou, F.; et al. Nanoscale 2012, 4, 4650; Nanoscale 2013, 5, 2055; (3) Mou, F.; et al. J. Mater. Chem. 2011, 21, 5414; ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 2012, 4, 3987. (4) Guan, J. et al. Adv. Mater. 2014, 26, 1058; J. Mater. Chem. C 2015, 3, 2848.

From photocatalysis to micro/nanomotors: Light-controlled motion speed, direction, and swarming behaviors

250th National Meeting (2015)

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