Nanodiamonds That Swim
At a Glance
Section titled âAt a Glanceâ| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2017-06-12 |
| Journal | Advanced Materials |
| Authors | Ji Tae Kim, Udit Choudhury, HyeonâHo Jeong, Peer Fischer |
| Institutions | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Ăcole Polytechnique FĂ©dĂ©rale de Lausanne |
| Citations | 38 |
Abstract
Section titled âAbstractâNanodiamonds are emerging as nanoscale quantum probes for bioâsensing and imaging. This necessitates the development of new methods to accurately manipulate their position and orientation in aqueous solutions. The realization of an âactiveâ nanodiamond (ND) swimmer in fluids, composed of a ND crystal containing nitrogen vacancy centers and a lightâdriven selfâthermophoretic micromotor, is reported. The swimmer is propelled by a local temperature gradient created by laser illumination on its metalâcoated side. Its locomotionâfrom translational to rotational motionâis successfully controlled by shapeâdependent hydrodynamic interactions. The precise engineering of the swimmerâs geometry is achieved by selfâassembly combined with physical vapor shadow growth. The optical addressability of the suspended ND swimmers is demonstrated by observing the electron spin resonance in the presence of magnetic fields. Active motion at the nanoscale enables new sensing capabilities combined with active transport including, potentially, in living organisms.