Emerging materials for the fabrication of micro/nanomotors

Abstract

Self-propelled autonomous nano and micromotors are devices which in many aspects mimic living organisms: they take chemical energy from the environment and convert it to motion; they are capable of phototaxis, chemotaxis and magnetotaxis, following the gradient of fuel, a magnetic field or light. There is an immense spectrum of possible applications of these devices, ranging from environmental remediation to the biomedical field. All of these developments depend on the materials used and there has been intensive development of materials allowing more efficient propulsion, phototaxis, chemotaxis and enhanced applications of these devices. Here we review the emerging materials employed in the fabrication of nano/micromotors and discuss their applications in the field of nanorobots.