Magnetically guided chemical locomotion of self-propelling paperbots

Abstract

Self-propelling microjets with multimodal chemical and magnetic controls for motion were prepared from printed waste papers coated with MnO₂ nanoparticles. Because the magnetic remote control was infused from the ferromagnetic coating of the printer ink, the nanoparticles decomposed peroxide fuel to induce locomotion by ejecting oxygen bubbles through a microjet. The paper microjets could be loaded with fluorescent rhodamine 6G (R6G), a model payload, before being remotely guided through an external magnetic field inside a fluidic environment. The reported methodology provides an economic, scalable, and biodegradable scheme for the design and development of bubble-propelled microengines, which are capable of directed locomotion.