Self-motile colloidal particles: from directed propulsion to random walk.
نویسندگان
چکیده
The motion of an artificial microscale swimmer that uses a chemical reaction catalyzed on its own surface to achieve autonomous propulsion is fully characterized experimentally. It is shown that at short times it has a substantial component of directed motion, with a velocity that depends on the concentration of fuel molecules. At longer times, the motion reverts to a random walk with a substantially enhanced diffusion coefficient. Our results suggest strategies for designing artificial chemotactic systems.
منابع مشابه
Light-activated self-propelled colloids.
Light-activated self-propelled colloids are synthesized and their active motion is studied using optical microscopy. We propose a versatile route using different photoactive materials, and demonstrate a multiwavelength activation and propulsion. Thanks to the photoelectrochemical properties of two semiconductor materials (α-Fe2O3 and TiO2), a light with an energy higher than the bandgap trigger...
متن کاملLight-induced self-assembly of active rectification devices
Self-propelled colloidal objects, such as motile bacteria or synthetic microswimmers, have microscopically irreversible individual dynamics-a feature they share with all living systems. The incoherent behavior of individual swimmers can be harnessed (or "rectified") by microfluidic devices that create systematic motions that are impossible in equilibrium. We present a computational proof-of-con...
متن کاملOsmotic propulsion: the osmotic motor.
A model for self-propulsion of a colloidal particle--the osmotic motor--immersed in a dispersion of "bath" particles is presented. The nonequilibrium concentration of bath particles induced by a surface chemical reaction creates an osmotic pressure imbalance on the motor causing it to move. The ratio of the speed of reaction to that of diffusion governs the bath particle distribution which is e...
متن کاملEffect of self-propulsion on equilibrium clustering.
In equilibrium, colloidal suspensions governed by short-range attractive and long-range repulsive interactions form thermodynamically stable clusters. Using Brownian dynamics computer simulations, we investigate how this equilibrium clustering is affected when such particles are self-propelled. We find that the clustering process is stable under self-propulsion. For the range of interaction par...
متن کاملActive dipole clusters: From helical motion to fission.
The structure of a finite particle cluster is typically determined by total energy minimization. Here we consider the case where a cluster of soft-sphere dipoles becomes active, i.e., when the individual particles exhibit an additional self-propulsion along their dipole moments. We numerically solve the overdamped equations of motion for soft-sphere dipoles in a solvent. Starting from an initia...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Physical review letters
دوره 99 4 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2007