2D Active Nanobots Based on Soft Nanoarchitectonics Powered by an Ultralow Fuel Concentration

Fuel-efficient nanobots

31 August 2022

Two-dimensional nanobots that require ultralow concentrations to fuel them have been demonstrated.

The use of enzymes to power the movement of nanomotors is attracting a lot of interest for biomedical and environmental applications. However, most of them have three-dimensional structures and require high fuel concentrations to power them since they have limited surfaces available for enzymes.

Now, three researchers from Deakin University in Australia have made a two-dimensional nanobot based on graphene oxide nanosheets. 

These nanobots only needed very low concentrations (0.003%) of hydrogen peroxide to fuel them. 

The trio demonstrated their potential for environmental remediation projects by using the nanobots to remove methylene blue dye with an efficiency of 85%. The researchers anticipate they could be used for a wide range of other applications including drug delivery and the ferrying of molecules to plant organelles.

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References

1. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 61, e202113801 (2022). doi: 10.1002/anie.202113801