Wang, XuSrdihar, VarumGuo, SurongTalebi, NahidMiguel López, AlbertHahn, Kerstenvan Aken, Peter A.Sánchez Ordóñez, Samuel2018-07-112019-01-152018-06-20https://hdl.handle.net/2445/123486The motion of nanomotors triggered by light sources will provide new alternative routes to power nanoarchitectures without the need of chemical fuels. However, most light-driven nanomotors are triggered by UV-light, near infrared reflection, or laser sources. It is demonstrated that nanocap shaped Au/TiO2 nanomotors (175 nm in diameter) display increased Brownian motion in the presence of broad spectrum visible light. The motion results from the surface plasmon resonance effect leading to self-electrophoresis between the Au and TiO2 layers, a mechanism called plasmonic photocatalytic effect in the field of photocatalysis. This mechanism is experimentally characterized by electron energy loss spectroscopy, energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy, and optical video tracking. This mechanism is also studied in a more theoretical manner using numerical finite-difference time-domain simulations. The ability to power nanomaterials with visible light may result in entirely new applications for externally powered micro/nanomotors.17 p.application/pdfeng(c) Wiley, 2018NanotecnologiaEspectroscòpia d'electronsNanotechnologyElectron spectroscopyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess