Issue 2, 2022

Nature-inspired micro/nanomotors

Abstract

Living things in nature have evolved with unique morphologies, structures, materials, behaviors, and functions to survive in complex natural environments. Nature has inspired the design ideas, preparation methods, and applications of versatile micro/nanomotors. This review summarizes diverse nature-inspired micro/nanomotors, which can be divided into five groups: (i) natural morphology-inspired micro/nanomotors, whose shapes are designed to imitate the morphologies of plants, animals, and objects in nature. (ii) Natural structure-inspired micro/nanomotors, which use structures from plants, red blood cells, and platelet cells as components of micro/nanomotors, or directly use sperm cells and microorganisms as the engines of micro/nanomotors. (iii) Natural behavior-inspired micro/nanomotors, which are proposed to mimic natural behaviors such as motion behavior, swarm behavior, and communication behavior between individuals. (iv) Micro/nanomotors inspired by both natural morphology and behavior. Nature makes it possible for synthetic micro/nanomotors to possess interesting morphologies, novel preparation methods, new propulsion modes, innovative functions, and broad applications. The nature-inspired micro/nanomotors could provide a promising platform for various practical fields.

Graphical abstract: Nature-inspired micro/nanomotors

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
24 ربيع الأول 1443
Accepted
19 ربيع الثاني 1443
First published
19 ربيع الثاني 1443

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 219-238

Nature-inspired micro/nanomotors

X. Chang, Y. Feng, B. Guo, D. Zhou and L. Li, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 219 DOI: 10.1039/D1NR07172F

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