Microrobotic photocatalyst on-the-fly: 1D/2D nanoarchitectonic hybrid-based layered metal thiophosphate magnetic micromachines for enhanced photodegradation of nerve agent

• Layered metal thiophosphates-based magnetic 2D microrobots are presented. • 1D/2D hetero-dimensional hybrids are fabricated by versatile electrostatic assembly. • Anisotropic Fe 3 O 4 nanochains enable an effective tumbling motion of MnPS 3 sheets. • Moving 2D-photocatalysts exhibited enhanced photodegradation of organic pollutant and nerve agent. • On-the-fly 2D-microrobotic photocatalyst paves the way toward a new concept of on-the-move catalysis. Micro/nanorobots, deployed to programmable missions, are at the forefront of next-generation machinery and robotics. Here, we present magnetically actuated 2D-microrobot photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalysis due to enhanced mass transfer by photocatalytic on-the-fly microrobot action. The magnetic 2D-microrobots, consisting of layered manganese thiophosphates (MnPS 3 ) and Fe 3 O 4 nanochains, are fabricated by electrostatic assembly, which provides versatile and efficient 1D/2D hetero-dimensional nanoarchitectonic hybridization. The resulting MnPS 3 -Fe 3 O 4 microrobots are actively propelled by vertical tumbling under a transversal rotating external magnetic field. Particularly, a programmed swarming mode enables local fluid convection and self-stirring, which enhances the photochemical reaction. The promise of swarming 2D-microrobots was shown for enhanced photodegradation of an organic pollutant (Rhodamine B, Rh-B) and the nerve agent chlorpyrifos (CPS); here, MnPS 3 -Fe 3 O 4 microrobots act like moving 2D photocatalysts, with enhanced degradation efficiency of 10.3% (Rh-B) and 8.8% (CPS) compared to that of static hybrids. The moving 2D photocatalyst and hetero-dimensional nanoarchitectonic methodology demonstrated here can potentially inspire a variety of high-performance magnetic 2D-micro/nanorobots for catalytic applications.