On Applying Novel Techniques to Control Active Matter Systems at the Microscale*

In this talk, I will discuss how photocatalysts can be exploited in artificial active matter at the microscale. Over the past decade, catalyzed chemical reactions have been used extensively for this purpose, particularly in the case of platinum, but photocatalysts have several advantages over traditional materials. The major benefit from using photocatalysts is that the activity can be switched on-and-off by a light stimulus. Through co-deposition of multiple matterials we can alter the band-gap and can actuate complex particles in different ways by switching the light source. Using these and other techniques, we investigate novel ways to control the motion of such active matter systems at the microscale.