Highly efficient chemically-driven micromotors with controlled snowman-like morphology

• Published in: Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) Vol. 56; no. 97; pp. 1531 - 1534
• Main Authors: Shah, Zameer Hussain, Wang, Shuo, Xian, Longbin, Zhou, Xuemao, Chen, Yi, Lin, Guanhua, Gao, Yongxiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 18.12.2020
• Subjects: Hydrogen peroxide; Micromotors; Morphology; Optimization
• ISSN: 1359-7345; 1364-548X
• DOI: 10.1039/d0cc06812h

We report the synthesis of silver-based Janus micromotors that self-propel at 3.5 μm s −1 and speed up to 45 μm s −1 in 0.044 and 1.5 mM of H 2 O 2 , respectively, via ionic diffusiophoresis. Morphology optimization further accelerates the speed to 90 μm s −1 , which leads to a force of 1 pN and a power of 0.1 fW, similar to biomolecular motors. Their efficiency reaches 10 −5 , at least two orders of magnitude higher than other chemically-driven micromotors. These micromotors hold great promises in various applications. A hierarchical catalytic engine and morphology optimization lead to highly efficient micromotors that operate at a fuel concentration and speed close to those of biomolecular motors.