Ultrasound-Modulated Bubble Propulsion of Chemically-Powered Microengines. Xu, T., Soto, F., Gao, W., Garcia-Gradilla, V., Li, J., Zhang, X., & Wang, J. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 6, 2014.
Ultrasound-Modulated Bubble Propulsion of Chemically-Powered Microengines. [pdf]Paper  Ultrasound-Modulated Bubble Propulsion of Chemically-Powered Microengines. [link]Website  abstract   bibtex   
The use of the ultrasound field for rapid and reversible control of the movement of bubble-propelled chemically-powered PEDOT/Ni/Pt microengines is demonstrated. Such operation reflects the ultrasound-induced disruption of normal bubble evolution and ejec-tion, essential for efficient propulsion of catalytic micro-tubular engines. It offers precise speed control, with sharp increases and decreases of the speed at low and high ultrasound powers, respectively. A wide range of speeds can thus be generated by tuning the ultrasound power. Extremely fast changes in the motor speed (<0.1 s) and reproducible 'On/Off' activations are observed, indicating distinct advantages compared to motion control methods based on other external stimuli. Such effective control of the propulsion of chemically-powered microengines, including remarkable 'braking' ability, holds considerable promise for diverse applications.

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