Autonomous nanorobots with powerful thrust under dry solid-contact conditions by photothermal shock

Zhaoqi Gu, Runlin Zhu, Tianci Shen, Lin Dou, Hongjiang Liu, Yifei Liu, Xu Liu, Jia Liu, Songlin Zhuang and Fuxing Gu ()
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Zhaoqi Gu: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Runlin Zhu: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Tianci Shen: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Lin Dou: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Hongjiang Liu: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Yifei Liu: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Xu Liu: Hebei University of Technology
Jia Liu: Auburn University
Songlin Zhuang: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Fuxing Gu: School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Nanorobotic motion on solid substrates is greatly hindered by strong nanofriction, and powerful nanomotors‒the core components for nanorobotic motion‒are still lacking. Optical actuation addresses power and motion control issues simultaneously, while conventional technologies with small thrust usually apply to fluid environments. Here, we demonstrate micronewton-thrust nanomotors that enable the autonomous nanorobots working like conventional robots with precise motion control on dry surfaces by a photothermal-shock technique. We build a pulsed laser-based actuation and trapping platform, termed photothermal-shock tweezers, for general motion control of metallic nanomaterials and assembled nanorobots with nanoscale precision. The thrust-to-weight ratios up to 107 enable nanomotors output forces to interact with external micro/nano-objects. Leveraging machine vision and deep learning technologies, we assemble the nanomotors into autonomous nanorobots with complex structures, and demonstrate multi-degree-of-freedom motion and sophisticated functions. Our photothermal shock-actuation concept fundamentally addresses the nanotribology challenges and expands the nanorobotic horizon from fluids to dry solid surfaces.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43433-6

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