Nanostructured Scrolls from Graphene Oxide for Microjet Engines.

Layered heterostructures containing graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and 20-35 nm bimetal coatings can detach easily from a Si substrate upon sonication-spontaneously forming freestanding, micrometer-sized scrolls with GO on the outside-due to a combination of material stresses and weak bonding between GO layers. Simple procedures can tune the scroll diameters by varying the thicknesses of the metal films, and these results are confirmed by both experiment and modeling. The selection of materials determines the stresses that control the rolling behavior, as well as the functionality of the structures. In the GO/Ti/Pt system, the Pt is located within the interior of the scrolls, which can become self-propelled microjet engines through O2 bubbling when suspended in aqueous H2O2.