Silver‐enhanced Photoresponsive g‐C <sub>3</sub> N <sub>4</sub> /Ag Janus Microrobots With Negative Photogravitaxis Efficient Antibiotic Degradation

Water pollution remains a serious global challenge; hence, the efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly removal of pollutants from water has become a research hotspot. Photocatalytic microrobots can achieve autonomous movement and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), presenting a great opportunity for water purification. Despite the excellent properties of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>, such as high photocatalytic activity, high surface area, tunable bandgap, and low cost, only a few studies have focused on g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-based microrobots. Herein, we developed g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Ag Janus microrobots that display negative photogravitaxis and efficient photocatalytic activity. Silver modification promotes the generation and separation of charge carriers while suppressing their recombination, enabling the microrobots to move upward. This three-dimensional movement enhances mass transfer between pollutants and microrobots. We utilized the microrobots to degrade tetracycline with an efficiency of 88%, which is attributed to ROS generation and light-driven propulsion. This work not only demonstrates negative photogravitaxis in g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Ag-based microrobots but also reveals their motion-enhanced photocatalytic mechanism for antibiotic degradation. These findings are expected to significantly advance the development of microrobotic systems for water purification and broader environmental remediation applications.

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Small
Published
2026-03-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202512272
Primary Topic
Micro and Nano Robotics
Type
article
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article

Silver‐enhanced Photoresponsive g‐C 3 N 4 /Ag Janus Microrobots With Negative Photogravitaxis Efficient Antibiotic Degradation

Vinicius Tadeu Santana, Yunhuan Yuan, Michal Mazur, Stanisław Wacławek et al.
Small
Micro and Nano Robotics
article

Silver‐enhanced Photoresponsive g‐C 3 N 4 /Ag Janus Microrobots With Negative Photogravitaxis Efficient Antibiotic Degradation

Vinicius Tadeu Santana, Yunhuan Yuan, Michal Mazur, Stanisław Wacławek, Martin Pumera
article en

Abstract

Water pollution remains a serious global challenge; hence, the efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly removal of pollutants from water has become a research hotspot. Photocatalytic microrobots can achieve autonomous movement and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), presenting a great opportunity for water purification. Despite the excellent properties of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>, such as high photocatalytic activity, high surface area, tunable bandgap, and low cost, only a few studies have focused on g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-based microrobots. Herein, we developed g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Ag Janus microrobots that display negative photogravitaxis and efficient photocatalytic activity. Silver modification promotes the generation and separation of charge carriers while suppressing their recombination, enabling the microrobots to move upward. This three-dimensional movement enhances mass transfer between pollutants and microrobots. We utilized the microrobots to degrade tetracycline with an efficiency of 88%, which is attributed to ROS generation and light-driven propulsion. This work not only demonstrates negative photogravitaxis in g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Ag-based microrobots but also reveals their motion-enhanced photocatalytic mechanism for antibiotic degradation. These findings are expected to significantly advance the development of microrobotic systems for water purification and broader environmental remediation applications.

Small
Central European Institute of Technology (CZ), VSB - Technical University of Ostrava (CZ), Technical University of Liberec (CZ), China Medical University (TW), Yonsei University (KR), Charles University (CZ), Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (CZ), Central European Institute of Technology (AT), China Medical University Hospital (TW)
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
Micro and Nano Robotics
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