Self-regulated underwater phototaxis of a photoresponsive hydrogel-based phototactic vehicle

Hou, Guodong1,2,3,4; Zhang, Xu1; Du, Feihong1,2,3; Wu, Yadong5; Zhang, Xing1; Lei, Zhijie1,2,3; Lu, Wei1,2,3; Zhang, Feiyu1,2,3; Yang, Guang3; Wang, Huamiao1; Liu, Zhenyu4; Wang, Rong6; Ge, Qi6; Chen, Jiangping1,3; Meng, Guang1,2; Fang, Nicholas X. X.7; Qian, Xiaoshi1,2,3

2023-08-01

10.1038/s41565-023-01490-4

NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY   Impact Factor & Quartile

1748-3387

1748-3395

["An untethered phototactic soft machine composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel blended with graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles demonstrates underwater full-space artificial phototaxis and manoeuvres around obstacles in natural sunlight.","Incorporating a negative feedback loop in a synthetic material to enable complex self-regulative behaviours akin to living organisms remains a design challenge. Here we show that a hydrogel-based vehicle can follow the directions of photonic illumination with directional regulation inside a constraint-free, fluidic space. By manipulating the customized photothermal nanoparticles and the microscale pores in the polymeric matrix, we achieved strong chemomechanical deformation of the soft material. The vehicle swiftly assumes an optimal pose and creates directional flow around itself, which it follows to achieve robust full-space phototaxis. In addition, this phototaxis enables a series of complex underwater locomotions. We demonstrate that this versatility is generated by the synergy of photothermofluidic interactions resulting in closed-loop self-control and fast reconfigurability. The untethered, electronics-free, ambient-powered hydrogel vehicle manoeuvres through obstacles agilely, following illumination cues of moderate intensities, similar to that of natural sunlight."]

SCI

English

NI Journal Papers

Others

National Key Ramp;D Program of China[2020YFA0711500] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[52076127] ; Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai["20ZR1471700","22JC1401800"] ; State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration["MSVZD202211","GKZD020039/001"] ; Oceanic Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University[SL2020MS009] ; Prospective Research Program at Shanghai Jiao Tong University[19X160010008]

Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Materials Science

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology ; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

WOS:001052542300001

NATURE PORTFOLIO

Web of Science

1.Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, State Key Lab Mech Syst & Vibrat, Shanghai, Peoples R China
2.Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Interdisciplinary Res Ctr Engn Sci, Sch Mech Engn, Shanghai, Peoples R China
3.Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Inst Refrigerat & Cryogen, Sch Mech Engn, Shanghai, Peoples R China
4.Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Inst Engn Thermophys, Sch Mech Engn, Shanghai, Peoples R China
5.Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ, Inst Aerosp Prop, Sch Mech Engn, Shanghai, Peoples R China
6.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Mech & Energy Engn, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
7.Univ Hong Kong, Dept Mech Engn, Hong Kong, Peoples R China

Hou, Guodong,Zhang, Xu,Du, Feihong,et al. Self-regulated underwater phototaxis of a photoresponsive hydrogel-based phototactic vehicle[J]. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY,2023.

Hou, Guodong.,Zhang, Xu.,Du, Feihong.,Wu, Yadong.,Zhang, Xing.,...&Qian, Xiaoshi.(2023).Self-regulated underwater phototaxis of a photoresponsive hydrogel-based phototactic vehicle.NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY.

Hou, Guodong,et al."Self-regulated underwater phototaxis of a photoresponsive hydrogel-based phototactic vehicle".NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (2023).