title: Catalytic Polymer Multilayer Shell Motors for Separation of Organics.
abstract: A catalytic polymer multilayer shell motor has been developed, which effects fast motion-based separation of charged organics in water. The shell motors are fabricated by sputtering platinum onto the exposed surface of silica templates embedded in Parafilm, followed by layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolyte multilayers to the templates. The catalytic shell motors display high bubble propulsion with speeds of up to 260 μm s(-1) (13 body lengths per second). Moreover, the polyelectrolyte multilayers assembled at high pH (pH>9.0) adsorb approximately 89% of dye molecules from water, owing to the electrostatic interaction between the positively charged polymers and the anionic dye molecules, and subsequently release them at neutral pH in a microfluidic device. The efficient propulsion coupled with the effective adsorption behavior of the catalytic shell motors in a microfluidic device results in accelerated separation of organics in water and thus holds considerable promise for water analysis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment (HIT), Micro/Nanotechnology Research Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhihua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment (HIT), Micro/Nanotechnology Research Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150080, P. R. China. zhiguangwu@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhiguang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment (HIT), Micro/Nanotechnology Research Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiankun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Urban Water Resource and Environment (HIT), Micro/Nanotechnology Research Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150080, P. R. China. qianghe@hit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002384:Catalysis; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009038:Motion; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
keywords: microfluidic chips; micromotors; platinum; pollution abatement; polymers