Bioinspired nanofluidic iontronic device with integrated photoreceptor and photosynaptic functions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41786712.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-70337-y and PMC identifier 13086850.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Biological vision acquires external information through light-induced transmembrane ion transport, generating electrical impulses. Emulating the dual visual functions of photoreceptors and photosynapses through light-modulated ion transport presents a significant challenge. Herein, we present a bioinspired light-regulated nanofluidic iontronic device that can mimic biological visual functionalities, realized through an engineered carbon nanotube and molybdenum disulfide (CNT/MoS<sub>2</sub>) heterostructure. This bioinspired device combines two key functionalities of photoreceptor-like optical sensing and photosynaptic signal processing with dynamically adjustable polarity-switching behavior, achieved via bias voltage-modulated transient photoresponse speeds. Both theoretical and experimental results prove that light-modulated ion transport originates from the heterointerface-induced asymmetric photovoltage generation across CNT/MoS<sub>2</sub> nanotube. Furthermore, we demonstrate its implementation for both accurate orientation recognition and reliable fingerprint detection under varying incident light angles. The device's bidirectional photoresponsiveness highlights its unique advantages for adaptive visual simulation systems.