Prof. Katherine Villa starts a new project to keep advancing light-driven micromotors research

27 February 2025 – ICIQ’s group leader Prof. Katherine Villa has been awarded a new research project under the “Consolidación Investigadora 2024” programme. This type of call aims to support the career consolidation of researchers enabling them to establish their professional trajectory within the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System (SECTI).

The program also seeks to encourage the creation of permanent research positions and facilitate the strengthening of a research line through the funding of an independent R&D project. Additionally, it supports the adaptation and renovation of research spaces, as well as the improvement of equipment necessary for project execution.

A step forward in developing advanced light-driven micromotors

The newly funded project is titled Steermotors – Steerable photoactive micromotors based on metal complexes and focuses on the development of artificial photoactivated microswimmers. These self-propelled micromotors, which use light as their primary energy source, similar to many biological systems, are at the forefront of the micro/nanomotors field. This rapidly developing field currently relies on inorganic semiconductors, known for their fast charge pair recombination and limited photostability.

Prof. Villa research group will deal with the development of visible-light-driven self- micromotors with unique chemical stability, redox properties and long-lived excited states and motion programmability properties. Steermotors’ goal is to develop a novel type of light-driven micromotors based on transition metal complexes, designed for controlled self-assembly under structured light patterns. This innovation aims to deliver superior stability, enhanced visible-light absorption and catalytic activity compared to traditional metal oxide-based micromotors.  Furthermore, considering the ability of these micromotors to generate reactive radicals upon photoactivation, their capabilities for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy as drug-free agents will also be explored.

The Steermotors project is expected to contribute to the development of steerable light-driven micromotors for targeted biofilm eradication with far-reaching scientific and socio-economic impacts.

Continuing ICIQ’s success in “Consolidación Investigadora” projects

This is the third time ICIQ has successfully secured a project under the “Consolidación Investigadora” programme. The other ongoing projects of this kind at ICIQ are: AI-KINETIC, led by Prof. Jordi Burés, which focuses on using artificial intelligence for kinetic analysis and mechanistic studies of catalytic organic reactions; and LEMOSKITES, led by Dr. Eugenia Martínez, which investigates the field of semiconductors with perovskite crystalline structure with null o residual content of lead for light emitting memories.

Steermotors:

Ayuda CNS2024-154696, financiada por MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/PRTR.