Light‐Activated Hybrid‐Engine Polymer Nanomotors With Switchable Propulsion Modes

ABSTRACT Hybrid nanomotors with multimode propulsion have exhibited appealing manupubility and motility. By installing multiple engines, nanomotors can convert multiple stimuli into energy gradients separately. The motility is governed by the quantity and spatial organization of the engines and the interaction between stimuli‐responsive behaviors. The multistep engine installation and fixed/mutually independent energy‐conversion modes limit flexibility and adaptability across diverse application scenarios. Herein, we report on single hybrid‐engine powered polymer nanomotors with switchable propulsion modes prepared from quantitatively and asymmetrically aggregating azo‐containing polyurethane‐grafted gold nanoparticles. According to the wavelength of irradiating light, the photo/thermo‐degradability of polymers selectively interacts with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of gold nanoparticles to perform light‐to‐chemical or light‐to‐heat‐to‐chemical energy‐converting processes for photocatalytic or photothermal/thermocatalytic propulsion. The motility is conveniently tuned by the quantity of the azo/gold of the hybrid engine. The two modes are switched freely in response to alternating irradiations. The combined irradiation simultaneously activates two modes for synergistically enhancing motility. It endows nanomotors with good adaptivity capable of enhancing in vitro antitumor efficacy under 808 nm light irradiation and accelerating their release from vector‐in‐hydrogels with exposure to sunlight. The work provides proof‐of‐concept for developing hybrid‐engine polymer nanomotors with mode‐switchable propulsion, showing considerable potential in various applications.