Silicon-Based Chemical Motors: An Efficient Pump for Triggering and Guiding Fluid Motion Using Visible Light.

ABSTRACT: We report a simple yet highly efficient chemical motor that can be controlled with visible light. The motor made from a noble metal and doped silicon acts as a pump, which is driven through a light-activated catalytic reaction process. We show that the actuation is based on electro-osmosis with the electric field generated by chemical reactions at the metal and silicon surfaces, whereas the contribution of diffusio-osmosis to the actuation is negligible. Surprisingly, the pump can be operated using water as fuel. This is possible because of the large ζ-potential of silicon, which makes the electro-osmotic fluid motion sizable even though the electric field generated by the reaction is weak. The electro-hydrodynamic process is greatly amplified with the addition of reactive species, such as

SUBMITTER: Esplandiu MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4660396 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature