Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published February 11, 2012 | Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Multi-Fuel Driven Janus Micromotors

Abstract

Here the first example of a chemically powered micromotor that harvests its energy from the reactions of three different fuels is presented. The new Al/Pd Janus microspheres—prepared by depositing a Pd layer on one side of Al microparticles—are propelled efficiently by the thrust of hydrogen bubbles generated from different reactions of Al in strong acidic and alkaline environments, and by an oxygen bubble thrust produced at their partial Pd coating in hydrogen peroxide media. High speeds and long lifetimes of 200 μm s^(−1) and 8 min are achieved in strong alkaline media and acidic media, respectively. The ability to autonomously adapt to the presence of a new fuel (surrounding environment), without compromising the propulsion behavior is illustrated. These data also represent the first example of a chemically powered micromotor that propels autonomously and efficiently in alkaline environments (pH > 11) without additional fuels. The ability to use multiple fuel sources to power the same micromotor offers a broader scope of operation and considerable promise for diverse applications of micromotors in different chemical environments.

Additional Information

© 2013 Wiley. Received: August 1, 2012. Revised: September 10, 2012. Published online: October 11, 2012. W.G., M.D'A., and V.G. contritubed equally to this work. This work was supported by the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Office for Chemical & Biological Defense, and the Department of Energy (Grant Number DE-SC0004937). W.G. is a HHMI International Student Research fellow. M. D'A., V.G. and J.O. acknowledge financial support to the Government of Italy, CONACYT Mexico (fellowship 165885) and Catalonia (a Beatriu de Pinós Fellowship), respectively. The authors also thank Adlai Katzenberg, Allen Pei and Adam Ponedal for their assistance.

Attached Files

Supplemental Material - smll_201201864_sm_Movie001.mpg

Supplemental Material - smll_201201864_sm_Movie002.mpg

Supplemental Material - smll_201201864_sm_Movie003.mpg

Supplemental Material - smll_201201864_sm_Movie004.mpg

Supplemental Material - smll_201201864_sm_Movie005.mpg

Supplemental Material - smll_201201864_sm_suppl.pdf

Files

smll_201201864_sm_suppl.pdf
Files (12.0 MB)
Name Size Download all
md5:a1153e4feb649644184fe69417eb1bd1
223.8 kB Preview Download
md5:79ae3ca7c93a3e04e0cd43383135ff53
3.5 MB Download
md5:861ddc23aad774d0f8cffd31740c2207
3.5 MB Download
md5:32b5377624a82d0e66bba26a12a613c3
2.0 MB Download
md5:fe26610bf6e02661d9de6da500f2d259
2.0 MB Download
md5:30db1c5eee17ebb52688acbf409e22f3
903.2 kB Download

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023