What is it about?
Designed micro/nanomotors are micro/nanoscale machines capable of autonomous motion in fluids, which have been emerging in recent decades owing to their great potential for biomedical and environmental applications. Among them, light-powered micro/nanomotors, in which motion is driven by light, exhibit various advantages in their precise motion manipulation and thereby a superior scope for application. This review summarizes recent advances in the design, manufacture and motion manipulation of different types of light-powered micro/nanomotors. Their structural features and motion performance are reviewed and compared. The challenges and opportunities of light-powered micro/nanomotors are also discussed. With rapidly increasing innovation, advanced, intelligent and multifunctional light-powered micro/nanomachines will certainly bring profound impacts and changes for human life in the future.
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Why is it important?
This review summarizes recent advances in the design, manufacture and motion manipulation of different types of light-powered micro/nanomotors. Their structural features and motion performance are reviewed and compared. The challenges and opportunities of light-powered micro/nanomotors are also discussed. With rapidly increasing innovation, advanced, intelligent and multifunctional light-powered micro/nanomachines will certainly bring profound impacts and changes for human life in the future.
Perspectives
In the future, we believe that the exploration of highly efficient light response materials and the design of well-defined micro/nanostructures shall be of great importance, particularly for the development of advanced light-powered MNMs with excellent performance with low-cost, environmentally friendly and facile approaches. Furthermore, the research and development (R&D) ofintelligent light-poweredMNMsis an important direction via a combination of bio-inspired design and bio-inspired smart materials. With intelligent abilities, these novel light-powered MNMs can perform complex tasks autonomously, and/or perform specific tasks in special environments, therefore hugely improving their scope of application.
Professor Xuemin Du
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
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This page is a summary of: Light-Powered Micro/Nanomotors, Micromachines, January 2018, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/mi9020041.
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