Visible light-regulated BiVO4-based micromotor with biomimetic 'predator-bait' behavior

Inspired by the swarming behavior of various bacteria in nature, light-driven micromotor with collective behavior has attracted a great deal of attention, which will be a valuable tool to understand the cooperation and communication between bacterial populations and will contribute to the creation of reconfigurable microrobots and the cooperative transportation of large cargoes. However, it is still challenging to modulate the micromotors' collective behavior based on local interaction and communication. Herein, we develop a light-powered BiVO4-based micromotor with self-propulsion and dynamic 'predator-bait' collective behavior, which is based on the photocatalytic reaction of BiVO4. The BiVO4-based micromotor has great potential in the field of organic pollutant degradation with enhanced apparent rate constant (0.076 min(-1)) which originates from the dynamic 'predator-bait' behavior.

Automated summary

Inspired by the swarming behavior of bacteria, a light-powered micromotor with self-propulsion and dynamic 'predator-bait' collective behavior was developed based on BiVO4. This micromotor shows great potential in organic pollutant degradation.