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Template Electrosynthesis of High‐Performance Graphene Microengines
Author(s) -
Martín Aída,
JuradoSánchez Beatriz,
Escarpa Alberto,
Wang Joseph
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201500008
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , nanotechnology , oxide , electrosynthesis , microporous material , catalysis , layer (electronics) , bubble , electrode , electrochemistry , composite material , chemistry , biochemistry , metallurgy , parallel computing , computer science
Template‐prepared graphene/Pt and graphene/Au tubular microengines, with extremely high electrocatalytic activity and propulsion efficiency, are described. The new bubble‐propelled graphene/metal micromotors are synthesized rapidly and inexpensively by the direct electrodeposition of graphene oxide (GO) within the conical pores of a polycarbonate template membrane followed by deposition of the inner metal layer. The presence of high number of edges and defects in the graphene layer results in highly reactive microporous Pt or Au catalytic structures. The high catalytic activity leads to an ultrafast bubble propulsion (as high as 170 body lengths/sec) and operation at extremely low levels (0.1%) of the peroxide fuel. The effect of such dramatically enhanced catalytic surface area on the bubble growth and motor speed has been theoretically modeled. The template‐prepared graphene‐based microengines display distinct moving trajectories, along with long microbubble tails. The fast catalytic locomotion and attractive performance of the new graphene/Pt micromotors hold considerable promise for diverse applications.