Issue 10, 2014

A bio-inspired inner-motile photocatalyst film: a magnetically actuated artificial cilia photocatalyst

Abstract

A new type of inner-motile photocatalyst film is explored to enhance photocatalytic performance using magnetically actuated artificial cilia. The inner-motile photocatalyst film is capable of generating flow and mixing on the microscale because it produces a motion similar to that of natural cilia when it is subjected to a rotational magnetic field. Compared with traditional photocatalyst films, the inner-motile photocatalyst film exhibits the unique ability of microfluidic manipulation. It uses an impactful and self-contained design to accelerate interior mass transfer and desorption of degradation species. Moreover, the special cilia-like structures increase the surface area and light absorption. Consequently, the photocatalytic activity of the inner-motile photocatalyst film is dramatically improved to approximately 3.0 times that of the traditional planar film. The inner-motile photocatalyst film also exhibits high photocatalytic durability and can be reused several times with ease. Furthermore, this feasible yet versatile platform can be extended to other photocatalyst systems, such as TiO2, P25, ZnO, and Co3O4 systems, to improve their photocatalytic performance.

Graphical abstract: A bio-inspired inner-motile photocatalyst film: a magnetically actuated artificial cilia photocatalyst

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Feb 2014
Accepted
04 Mar 2014
First published
06 Mar 2014

Nanoscale, 2014,6, 5516-5525

Author version available

A bio-inspired inner-motile photocatalyst film: a magnetically actuated artificial cilia photocatalyst

D. Zhang, W. Wang, F. Peng, J. Kou, Y. Ni, C. Lu and Z. Xu, Nanoscale, 2014, 6, 5516 DOI: 10.1039/C4NR00644E

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