Boundaries can steer active Janus spheres

Sambeeta Das; Astha Garg; Andrew I. Campbell; Jonathan Howse; Ayusman Sen; Darrell Velegol; Ramin Golestanian; Stephen J. Ebbens

doi:10.1038/ncomms9999

Boundaries can steer active Janus spheres

Sambeeta Das, Astha Garg, Andrew I. Campbell, Jonathan Howse, Ayusman Sen, Darrell Velegol, Ramin Golestanian, Stephen J. Ebbens

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

269 Scopus citations

Abstract

The advent of autonomous self-propulsion has instigated research towards making colloidal machines that can deliver mechanical work in the form of transport, and other functions such as sensing and cleaning. While much progress has been made in the last 10 years on various mechanisms to generate self-propulsion, the ability to steer self-propelled colloidal devices has so far been much more limited. A critical barrier in increasing the impact of such motors is in directing their motion against the Brownian rotation, which randomizes particle orientations. In this context, here we report directed motion of a specific class of catalytic motors when moving in close proximity to solid surfaces. This is achieved through active quenching of their Brownian rotation by constraining it in a rotational well, caused not by equilibrium, but by hydrodynamic effects. We demonstrate how combining these geometric constraints can be utilized to steer these active colloids along arbitrary trajectories.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	8999
Journal	Nature communications
Volume	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9999
State	Published - Dec 1 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Chemistry(all)
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
Physics and Astronomy(all)

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10.1038/ncomms9999

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title = "Boundaries can steer active Janus spheres",

abstract = "The advent of autonomous self-propulsion has instigated research towards making colloidal machines that can deliver mechanical work in the form of transport, and other functions such as sensing and cleaning. While much progress has been made in the last 10 years on various mechanisms to generate self-propulsion, the ability to steer self-propelled colloidal devices has so far been much more limited. A critical barrier in increasing the impact of such motors is in directing their motion against the Brownian rotation, which randomizes particle orientations. In this context, here we report directed motion of a specific class of catalytic motors when moving in close proximity to solid surfaces. This is achieved through active quenching of their Brownian rotation by constraining it in a rotational well, caused not by equilibrium, but by hydrodynamic effects. We demonstrate how combining these geometric constraints can be utilized to steer these active colloids along arbitrary trajectories.",

author = "Sambeeta Das and Astha Garg and Campbell, {Andrew I.} and Jonathan Howse and Ayusman Sen and Darrell Velegol and Ramin Golestanian and Ebbens, {Stephen J.}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank Prof. P. Cremer and Mathew Poyton for use and advice on their fluorescence microscopes. This work was funded by Penn State MRSEC under NSF grant DMR-1420620. This publication was supported by the Pennsylvania State University Materials Research Institute Nanofabrication Lab and the National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. ECS-0335765. S.J.E. and A.I.J. would like to acknowledge support from S.J.E.{\textquoteright} EPSRC fellowship (EP/J002402/1), and S.J.E. further acknowledges a World Universities Network travel grant. Prof. Ramin Golestanian would like to acknowledge support from the EPSRC.",

year = "2015",

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doi = "10.1038/ncomms9999",

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AU - Das, Sambeeta

AU - Garg, Astha

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AU - Howse, Jonathan

AU - Sen, Ayusman

AU - Velegol, Darrell

AU - Golestanian, Ramin

AU - Ebbens, Stephen J.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Prof. P. Cremer and Mathew Poyton for use and advice on their fluorescence microscopes. This work was funded by Penn State MRSEC under NSF grant DMR-1420620. This publication was supported by the Pennsylvania State University Materials Research Institute Nanofabrication Lab and the National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. ECS-0335765. S.J.E. and A.I.J. would like to acknowledge support from S.J.E.’ EPSRC fellowship (EP/J002402/1), and S.J.E. further acknowledges a World Universities Network travel grant. Prof. Ramin Golestanian would like to acknowledge support from the EPSRC.

PY - 2015/12/1

Y1 - 2015/12/1

N2 - The advent of autonomous self-propulsion has instigated research towards making colloidal machines that can deliver mechanical work in the form of transport, and other functions such as sensing and cleaning. While much progress has been made in the last 10 years on various mechanisms to generate self-propulsion, the ability to steer self-propelled colloidal devices has so far been much more limited. A critical barrier in increasing the impact of such motors is in directing their motion against the Brownian rotation, which randomizes particle orientations. In this context, here we report directed motion of a specific class of catalytic motors when moving in close proximity to solid surfaces. This is achieved through active quenching of their Brownian rotation by constraining it in a rotational well, caused not by equilibrium, but by hydrodynamic effects. We demonstrate how combining these geometric constraints can be utilized to steer these active colloids along arbitrary trajectories.

AB - The advent of autonomous self-propulsion has instigated research towards making colloidal machines that can deliver mechanical work in the form of transport, and other functions such as sensing and cleaning. While much progress has been made in the last 10 years on various mechanisms to generate self-propulsion, the ability to steer self-propelled colloidal devices has so far been much more limited. A critical barrier in increasing the impact of such motors is in directing their motion against the Brownian rotation, which randomizes particle orientations. In this context, here we report directed motion of a specific class of catalytic motors when moving in close proximity to solid surfaces. This is achieved through active quenching of their Brownian rotation by constraining it in a rotational well, caused not by equilibrium, but by hydrodynamic effects. We demonstrate how combining these geometric constraints can be utilized to steer these active colloids along arbitrary trajectories.

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Boundaries can steer active Janus spheres

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