Micromotors get supercharged with three ‘engines’

Nanowerk  March 4, 2020
Micromotors are tiny tools that convert stimuli, such as chemical fuel, light, magnetic fields or sound, into motion to perform tasks. They are powered by one or two of these stimuli. To make a “supercharged” micromotor with three engines researchers in Spain coated polystyrene microspheres with layers of gold and 2D nanomaterials; they attached three different nanoparticles that functioned as engines making the micromotors responsive to hydrogen peroxide, magnets and light. When the micromotors were exposed to all three stimuli simultaneously, the speed increased by as much as 73% over that attained with micromotors containing only two engines. They could travel at relatively high speeds even through viscous fluids, including saliva, blood and milk. By varying factors, such as the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the type of catalyst used and the light intensity, the new micromotors can control propulsion behaviors…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

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