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Chemo‐ and Magnetotaxis of Self‐Propelled Light‐Emitting Chemo‐electronic Swimmers
Author(s) -
Salinas Gerardo,
Dauphin Alice L.,
Colin Camille,
Villani Elena,
Arbault Stéphane,
Bouffier Laurent,
Kuhn Alexander
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201915705
Subject(s) - magnetic moment , chemotaxis , magnetic field , coupling (piping) , biomagnetism , physics , diode , optoelectronics , materials science , mechanics , chemical physics , classical mechanics , chemistry , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics , biochemistry , receptor , metallurgy
Miniaturized autonomous chemo‐electronic swimmers, based on the coupling of spontaneous oxidation and reduction reactions at the two poles of light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), are presented as chemotactic and magnetotactic devices. In homogeneous aqueous media, random motion caused by a bubble‐induced propulsion mechanism is observed. However, in an inhomogeneous environment, the self‐propelled devices exhibit positive chemotactic behavior, propelling themselves along a pH or ionic strength gradient (∇pH and ∇ I , respectively) in order to reach a thermodynamically higher active state. In addition, the intrinsic permanent magnetic moment of the LED allows self‐orientation in the terrestrial magnetic field or following other external magnetic perturbations, which enables a directional motion control coupled with light emission. The interplay between chemotaxis and magnetotaxis allows fine‐tuning of the dynamic behavior of these swimmers.