Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2021 Mar;16(3):288-295. doi: 10.1038/s41565-020-00825-9. Epub 2021 Jan 11.
Active matters are out-of-equilibrium systems that convert energy from the environment to mechanical motion. Non-reciprocal interaction between active matters may lead to collective intelligence beyond the capability of individuals. In nature, such emergent behaviours are ubiquitously observed in animal colonies, giving these species remarkable adaptive capability. In artificial systems, however, the emergence of non-trivial collective intelligent dynamics remains undiscovered. Here we show that a simple ion-exchange reaction can couple self-propelled ZnO nanorods and sulfonated polystyrene microbeads together. Chemical communication is established that enhances the reactivity and motion of both nanorods and the microbeads, resulting in the formation of an active swarm of nanorod-microbead complexes. We demonstrate that the swarm is capable of macroscopic phase segregation and intelligent consensus decision-making.
活性物质是一种非平衡系统，它可以将环境中的能量转化为机械运动。活性物质之间的非互易相互作用可能导致个体能力之外的集体智能。在自然界中，这种涌现的行为在动物群体中随处可见，使这些物种具有显著的适应能力。然而，在人工系统中，非平凡的集体智能动力学的涌现仍然未被发现。在这里，我们展示了一个简单的离子交换反应可以将自推进的 ZnO 纳米棒和磺化聚苯乙烯微球连接在一起。建立了化学通讯，增强了纳米棒和微球的反应性和运动性，导致了活性纳米棒-微球复合物的形成。我们证明了该群体能够进行宏观相分离和智能共识决策。
