Search

Light‐driven actuators are advantageous among various actuators because it enables remote, contactless, and localized manipulation without any complex equipment. However, most of them rely solely on the Marangoni effect which is slow in velocity and would be quenched in liquid with low surface tension force. Here, a dual‐mode actuator based on both the Marangoni effect and vapor jet flow is reported through the introduction of an excellent photothermal polymer crosslinked by Fe3+/catechol coordination bonds. The light‐driven ship not only realizes multimode motions such as forward, backward, rotation and obstacle crossing at the air/water interface, but also enables smart transportation and contactless delivery which has not been realized before. Moreover, the incorporation of photothermal conversion performance and self‐healing ability into near‐infrared photo‐responsive actuators at the molecular level can guarantee facile fabrication and prolong the service time of the light‐driven actuators which is the first dual‐mode light‐driven actuator with self‐healing ability. This work provides a new strategy for the structural design and application of the liquid/air interface light‐driven self‐propelled device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadband perfect absorbers are of great importance for various applications such as stealth technologies, thermal photovoltaic cells, optical communication, photodetection, and photovoltaic devices. However, they are often made by lithographic techniques with high cost and complexity, which hinders their practical applications. The design of broadband and ultrahigh absorber at low cost and ease in fabrication is still a big challenge in the field of optics. Here, an all‐solution‐processed plasmonic perfect absorber is proposed and demonstrated by incorporating Mxene Ti3C2Tx (Tx = F, O or OH) and gold nanoparticles (NPs) in metal–insulator–metal configuration. The absorption of the designed plasmonic absorber can reach up to 99% with polarization‐ and angle‐independence in a broad range of wavelengths from ultraviolet to near‐infrared region. This ultrahigh and broadband absorbance is attributed to the synergy of plasmon resonance, magnetic resonance, and cavity effect between gold NPs layer and Mxene film, which is further corroborated by simulations of the finite element method for both random and patterned orientation of the gold nanoparticles. The excellent optical property together with the easy fabrication method paves the way for preparing photon‐absorbing nanostructures in photocatalysis and solar photovoltaics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]