Light-Guided Self-Assembly and Steering of Photoactive Micromotors
Katherine Villa, ICIQ, Spain
Monday 9 March 2026, 12.00 PM
ICMAB - Sala d'Actes Carles Miravitlles
Abstract
Semiconductor-based photoactive micromotors are a class of self-propelled active particles that convert light energy into motion at microscopic scales. They are especially attractive because they respond rapidly to light, are photochemically stable, and can be fabricated in controlled anisotropic morphologies that govern their propulsion and interactions.
In this talk, I will present our recent works on visible-light-driven micromotors based on inorganic semiconductors, such as BiVO4, and on metal-complex colloids. In particular, I will describe how using faceted particles with spatially separated reactive sites, we can achieve precise steering of individual motors along light–dark boundaries with rapid response. By modulating light intensity, irradiation time, and light patterns, we can also direct reversible self-assembly, where both active–active and active–passive interactions play a role. The influence of chemical fuel composition on these cooperative behaviors will be discussed, and we will show that different groups of micromotors can display mixed oscillatory dynamics. Selected examples will briefly illustrate their potential for pollutant degradation and environmental sensing under visible-light irradiation.
These results show how multifunctional photoresponsive micromotors can be designed as programmable active materials for micromanipulation, controlled self-assembly, and photocatalytic reactions.
Short bio
Katherine Villa received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and is currently an ICREA Research Professor and Group Leader at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ). Her scientific trajectory has been recognized with several awards and distinctions, including the Premi Nacional de Recerca al Talent Jove, the EuChemS Lecture Award, and the Young Researcher Award from the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry, as well as highly competitive international funding, including an ERC Starting Grant and an ERC Proof of Concept grant. Her research interests include micro- and nanomotors, photocatalysis, renewable energy, and environmental remediation.
Hosted by David Amabilino, from the SUSMOSYS group (Materials for Energy Research Line)
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