PMID- 37914692
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20231104
IS  - 2041-1723 (Electronic)
IS  - 2041-1723 (Linking)
VI  - 14
IP  - 1
DP  - 2023 Nov 1
TI  - Reconfigurable self-assembly of photocatalytic magnetic microrobots for water 
      purification.
PG  - 6969
LID - 10.1038/s41467-023-42674-9 [doi]
LID - 6969
AB  - The development of artificial small-scale robotic swarms with nature-mimicking 
      collective behaviors represents the frontier of research in robotics. While 
      microrobot swarming under magnetic manipulation has been extensively explored, 
      light-induced self-organization of micro- and nanorobots is still challenging. 
      This study demonstrates the interaction-controlled, reconfigurable, reversible, 
      and active self-assembly of TiO(2)/alpha-Fe(2)O(3) microrobots, consisting of 
      peanut-shaped alpha-Fe(2)O(3) (hematite) microparticles synthesized by a hydrothermal 
      method and covered with a thin layer of TiO(2) by atomic layer deposition (ALD). 
      Due to their photocatalytic and ferromagnetic properties, microrobots 
      autonomously move in water under light irradiation, while a magnetic field 
      precisely controls their direction. In the presence of H(2)O(2) fuel, 
      concentration gradients around the illuminated microrobots result in mutual 
      attraction by phoretic interactions, inducing their spontaneous organization into 
      self-propelled clusters. In the dark, clusters reversibly reconfigure into 
      microchains where microrobots are aligned due to magnetic dipole-dipole 
      interactions. Microrobots' active motion and photocatalytic properties were 
      investigated for water remediation from pesticides, obtaining the rapid 
      degradation of the extensively used, persistent, and hazardous herbicide 
      2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4D). This study potentially impacts the 
      realization of future intelligent adaptive metamachines and the application of 
      light-powered self-propelled micro- and nanomotors toward the degradation of 
      persistent organic pollutants (POPs) or micro- and nanoplastics.
CI  - (c) 2023. The Author(s).
FAU - Urso, Mario
AU  - Urso M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-7993-8138
AD  - Future Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of 
      Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 123, 61200, Brno, Czech 
      Republic.
FAU - Ussia, Martina
AU  - Ussia M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-3248-6725
AD  - Future Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of 
      Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 123, 61200, Brno, Czech 
      Republic.
FAU - Peng, Xia
AU  - Peng X
AD  - Future Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of 
      Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 123, 61200, Brno, Czech 
      Republic.
FAU - Oral, Cagatay M
AU  - Oral CM
AD  - Future Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of 
      Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 123, 61200, Brno, Czech 
      Republic.
FAU - Pumera, Martin
AU  - Pumera M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-5846-2951
AD  - Future Energy and Innovation Laboratory, Central European Institute of 
      Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 123, 61200, Brno, Czech 
      Republic. pumera.research@gmail.com.
AD  - Advanced Nanorobots & Multiscale Robotics Laboratory, Faculty of Electrical 
      Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. 
      listopadu 2172/15, 70800, Ostrava, Czech Republic. pumera.research@gmail.com.
AD  - Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical 
      University, Hsueh-Shih Road 91, 40402, Taichung, Taiwan. 
      pumera.research@gmail.com.
AD  - Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, Yonsei-ro 
      50, Seodaemun-gu, 03722, Seoul, Republic of Korea. pumera.research@gmail.com.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20231101
PL  - England
TA  - Nat Commun
JT  - Nature communications
JID - 101528555
SB  - IM
PMC - PMC10620202
COIS- The authors declare no competing interests.
EDAT- 2023/11/02 06:42
MHDA- 2023/11/02 06:43
PMCR- 2023/11/01
CRDT- 2023/11/02 00:16
PHST- 2023/01/25 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2023/10/18 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/11/02 06:43 [medline]
PHST- 2023/11/02 06:42 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/11/02 00:16 [entrez]
PHST- 2023/11/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1038/s41467-023-42674-9 [pii]
AID - 42674 [pii]
AID - 10.1038/s41467-023-42674-9 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Nat Commun. 2023 Nov 1;14(1):6969. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42674-9.