Carbon nitride-based light-driven microswimmers with intrinsic photocharging ability

Sridhar, Varun; Podjaski, Filip; Kröger, Julia; Jimenez-Solano, Alberto; Park, Byung-Wook; Lotsch, Bettina V. and Sitti, Metin (2020): Carbon nitride-based light-driven microswimmers with intrinsic photocharging ability. In: PNAS, Vol. 117, No. 40: pp. 24748-24756

Abstract

Controlling autonomous propulsion of microswimmers is essential for targeted drug delivery and applications of micro/nanomachines in environmental remediation and beyond. Herein, we report two-dimensional (2D) carbon nitride-based Janus particles as highly efficient, light-driven microswimmers in aqueous media. Due to the superior photocatalytic properties of poly(heptazine imide) (PHI), the microswimmers are activated by both visible and ultraviolet (UV) light in conjunction with different capping materials (Au, Pt, and SiO2) and fuels (H2O2 and alcohols). Assisted by photoelectrochemical analysis of the PHI surface photoreactions, we elucidate the dominantly diffusiophoretic propulsion mechanism and establish the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as the major surface reaction in ambient conditions on metal-capped PHI and even with TiO2-based systems, rather than the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which is generally invoked as the source of propulsion under ambient conditions with alcohols as fuels. Making use of the intrinsic solar energy storage ability of PHI, we establish the concept of photocapacitive Janus microswimmers that can be charged by solar energy, thus enabling persistent light-induced propulsion even in the absence of illumination—a process we call “solar battery swimming”—lasting half an hour and possibly beyond. We anticipate that this propulsion scheme significantly extends the capabilities in targeted cargo/drug delivery, environmental remediation, and other potential applications of micro/nanomachines, where the use of versatile earth-abundant materials is a key prerequisite.

• Item Type: Journal article
• EU Funded Grant Agreement Number: 639233
• EU Projects: Horizon 2020 > ERC Grants > ERC Starting Grant > ERC Grant 639233: Fuel from sunlight: Covalent organic frameworks as integrated platforms for photocatalytic water splitting and CO2 reduction; Horizon 2020
• Form of publication: Publisher's Version
• Faculties: Chemistry and Pharmacy > Department of Chemistry
• Subjects: 500 Science > 540 Chemistry
• ISSN: 1091-6490
• Language: English