posted on 2022-08-18, 14:10authored byXujie Wang, Chi Zhang, Fangqi Chen, Junxiang Xiang, Shuangshuang Wang, Ze Liu, Tao Ding
Photons as energy carriers are clean and abundant, which
can be
conveniently applied for nanoactuation but the response is usually
slow with very low energy efficiency/density. Here, we underpin the
concept of robust nanoscale plasmonic dynamite by incorporating fullerene
(C60). The Au@C60 core–shell nanoparticles
can be triggered to explode in nanoscale with synergy of plasmon-enhanced
photochemical and photothermal effects. It is suggested that a sensible
amount of CO2 was generated and pressurized in nanometric
volume in an extremely short time scale (∼ns), which triggers
the nanoexplosion, rendering the ejection of Au NPs at the speed over
300 m/s. The ejection generates extremely large local forces (∼1
μN) with thermomechanical energy efficiency up to ∼30%,
which is demonstrated as a powerful nanoengine for controlled mobilization
of micro-objects on solid surfaces. Such nanoscale plasmonic dynamite
is highly exploitable for different types of nanomachines, which provides
a powerful energy source for nanoactuation and nanomigration.