Flow‐Active Liquid Marbles as Microreactors for Photocatalytic Micromotors
Self-propelled micromotors have shown promise for applications in environmental remediation, sensing, and biomedicine. However, assessing their performance in realistic, 3D microenvironments with dynamic boundaries and complex topography remains a key challenge. Achieving controlled motion and enhanced reactivity under such confinement is critical for both technological applications and fundamental studies on active matter. Here, the integration of light-driven micromotors with liquid marbles is presented, which are gas-permeable droplets encased by hydrophobic particles that act as dynamic, flow-active microreactors. By tuning the coverage of the particulate shell, partially covered liquid marbles are developed that exhibit robust evaporation-induced flows, increasing the average micromotor velocity by approximately threefold compared to sessile droplets. Under illumination, photocatalytic self-propulsion provides an additional velocity component and promotes micromotor dispersion. The combined circulation enhances mass transfer, guiding micromotor accumulation and transport while providing an optical transparent, soft-confinement platform for studying active particles and confined catalytic reactions.
Authors
- Majid Basharat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2531-9031)
- Katherine Villa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1917-0299)
- A. Martínez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4437-4963)
- Samuel Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5845-8941)
- Shuqin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1070-2618)
Institutions
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química (ES)
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (ES)
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2025-09-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202505439
- Primary Topic
- Micro and Nano Robotics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Centres de Recerca de Catalunya
- European Commission
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Institut Català d'Investigació Química
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación