Self-Moving Catalytic Nanomotors.

摘要

Work performed during the 3-year grant period includes the following: (a) The design of an efficient, bubble-free, nanoscale motor consisting of a copper-platinum segmented rod that operates as a nanobattery in dilute aqueous bromine or iodine solutions. (b) The fabrication of motors driven by both catalytic polymerization and depolymerization reactions. The former were observed to exhibit chemotaxis when placed in a monomer gradient. Scaling down to sub-nm scale, enhanced mobility for single catalyst molecules was also observed during substrate turnover. (c) The identification of a new mechanism for producing self-generated flows. This involves auto diffusio- osmosis due to the dissolution of a wide variety of minerals. Further, the diffusio-osmotic mechanisms was employed to design proof of principle crack sensing and repair systems, as well as to drive flows in and out of dead-end channels. (d) The design of a polymeric material that is self-powered, operates as a non-mechanical fluid pump in response to molecular level inputs, and 'remembers' the presence of the signal to which it was exposed, even when the signal is fleeting.