Water-Driven Micromotors

Abstract

We demonstrate the first example of a water-driven bubble-propelled micromotor that eliminates the requirement for the common hydrogen peroxide fuel. The new water-driven Janus micromotor is composed of a partially coated Al–Ga binary alloy microsphere prepared via microcontact mixing of aluminum microparticles and liquid gallium. The ejection of hydrogen bubbles from the exposed Al–Ga alloy hemisphere side, upon its contact with water, provides a powerful directional propulsion thrust. Such spontaneous generation of hydrogen bubbles reflects the rapid reaction between the aluminum alloy and water. The resulting water-driven spherical motors can move at remarkable speeds of 3 mm s^(–1) (i.e., 150 body length s^(–1)), while exerting large forces exceeding 500 pN. Factors influencing the efficiency of the aluminum–water reaction and the resulting propulsion behavior and motor lifetime, including the ionic strength and environmental pH, are investigated. The resulting water-propelled Al–Ga/Ti motors move efficiently in different biological media (e.g., human serum) and hold considerable promise for diverse biomedical or industrial applications.

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