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Published on: August 28, 2017
Seawater-driven magnesium based Janus micromotors for environmental remediation
Wei Gao1, Xiaomiao Feng, Allen Pei
1Department of Nanoengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA.
Abstract:
We describe the use of seawater as fuel to propel Janus micromotors. The new micromotors consist of biodegradable and environmentally friendly magnesium microparticles and a nickel-gold bilayer patch for magnetic guidance and surface modification. Such seawater-driven micromotors, which utilize macrogalvanic corrosion and chloride pitting corrosion processes, eliminate the need for external fuels to offer efficient and prolonged propulsion towards diverse applications in aquatic environments.
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