Liquid Metal Amplified Charge Separation in Photocatalytic Micro/Nanomotors for Antibacterial Therapy

作者：Zichang Guo, Dongdong Jin, Haohui Li, Xinyu Zhu, Tianqi Zheng, Zirong Xu, Yi Chen, Xiaojia Liu, Yinuo Song, Dai Wang, Xiaohui Yan, Xing Ma · 发表于：ACS Nano · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1021/acsnano.5c03785 · 被引用次数：31 · 研究领域：Micro and Nano Robotics、Molecular Communication and Nanonetworks、Photoreceptor and optogenetics research

Photocatalytic micro/nanomotors (MNMs) driven by electrophoresis have attracted considerable attention by virtue of their active mobility and versatile functionality. However, the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs on light illumination severely compromises the involvement of charge species in the catalytic redox reactions of fuels, thus hindering both the propulsion and the application performance of photocatalytic MNMs. Herein, we report a facile strategy to amplify charge separation by incorporating liquid metal (LM) into the construction of photocatalytic MNMs, thereby strengthening the electrophoretic propulsion of MNMs and promoting the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for antibacterial application. The MNMs are constructed with a gallium (Ga) LM core, coated with abundant graphite-phase carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) nanosheets and half covered by a thin platinum layer. These MNMs exhibit self-propulsion in hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) solution, with their motion dynamics further enhanced by light irradiation. Theoretical calculations and simulations reveal that the composition between Ga and g-C 3 N 4 forms an ohmic junction in the electronic energy band structure, which effectively improves the charge separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs. These results align well with the experimental electrochemical tests and consequently intensify the catalytic redox reactions of H 2 O 2, as well as accelerate the charge migration across MNMs,...