title: Manganese Oxide-Based Chemically Powered Micromotors.
abstract: Chemically powered micromotors represent an exciting research area in nanotechnology. Such artificial devices are typically driven by catalytic bubble formation, taking place at the solid-liquid interface. Platinum has been most frequently used for the fabrication of different micromotors due to its superior catalytic efficiency. Other materials typically suffer from slow speeds and require very high concentrations of chemical fuel. Here, we report preparation and characterization of fast moving micromotors based on manganese oxide (MnO2) with different geometrical shapes (tubes, rods, and spheres). On the basis of the results, the prepared micromotors reached the highest speeds (up to ∼900 μm s(-1) in 10% H2O2) reported to date for any MnO2-based micromotors. Moreover, they moved by bubble propulsion even at very low concentrations of peroxide fuel. Thus, MnO2 represents a promising material for the preparation of micromotors for various biomedical or environmental applications, where high speeds are desired.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Eastern Finland , FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safdar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Eastern Finland , FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland.
authors.forename: Owies M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Wani
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Eastern Finland , FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland.
authors.forename: Janne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jänis
mesh_terms: D004563:Electrochemistry; D017895:Manganese Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D055616:Microtechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging
chemical_list: D017895:Manganese Compounds; D010087:Oxides; C027424:manganese oxide
keywords: manganese oxide; micromotors; nanomotors; template fabrication