Search Results (5)

Salt-induced diffusiophoresis is the migration of a colloidal particle in water due to a directional salt concentration gradient. An important example of colloidal particles is represented by micelles, generated by surfactant self-assembly in water. For non-ionic surfactants containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) groups, PEG preferential hydration at the micelle–water interface is expected to drive micelle diffusiophoresis from high to low salt concentration. However, micelles are reversible supramolecular assemblies, with salts being able to promote a significant change in micelle size. This phenomenon complicates the description of diffusiophoresis. Specifically, it is not clear to what extent the salt-induced growth of micelles affects micelle diffusiophoresis. In this paper, a multiple-equilibrium model is developed for assessing the contribution of the micelle growth and preferential hydration mechanisms to the diffusiophoresis of non-ionic micelles. The available experimental data characterizing the effect of NaCl on Triton X-100 aggregation number are combined with data on diffusiophoresis and the preferential hydration of PEG chains to show that the contribution of the micelle growth mechanism to overall diffusiophoresis is small compared to that of preferential hydration. Full article

A self-diffusiophoretic problem is considered for a chemically active dimer consisting of two equal touching spherical colloids that are exposed to different fixed-flux and fixed-rate surface reactions. A new analytic solution for the autophoretic mobility of such a catalytic Janus dimer is presented in the limit of a small Péclet number and linearization of the resulting Robin-type boundary value problem for the harmonic solute concentration. Explicit solutions in terms of the physical parameters are first obtained for the uncoupled electrostatic and hydrodynamic problems. The dimer mobility is then found by employing the reciprocal theorem depending on the surface slip velocity and on the normal component of the shear stress acting on the inert dimer. Special attention is given to the limiting case of a Janus dimer composed of an inert sphere and a chemically active sphere where the fixed-rate reaction (Damköhler number) is infinitely large. Examples are given, comparing the numerical and approximate analytic solutions of the newly developed theory. Singular points arising in the model are discussed for a dimer with a fixed-rate reaction, and the flow field around the dimer is also analysed. The new developed theory introduces a fast way to compute the mobility of a freely suspended dimer and the induced flow field around it, and thus can also serve as a sub grid scale model for a multi-scale flow simulation. Full article

Diffusiophoresis of a weakly charged liquid metal droplet (LMD) is investigated theoretically, motivated by its potential application in drug delivery. A general analytical formula valid for weakly charged condition is adopted to explore the droplet phoretic behavior. We determined that a liquid metal droplet, which is a special category of the conducting droplet in general, always moves up along the chemical gradient in sole chemiphoresis, contrary to a dielectric droplet where the droplet tends to move down the chemical gradient most of the time. This suggests a therapeutic nanomedicine such as a gallium LMD is inherently superior to a corresponding dielectric liposome droplet in drug delivery in terms of self-guiding to its desired destination. The droplet moving direction can still be manipulated via the polarity dependence; however, there should be an induced diffusion potential present in the electrolyte solution under consideration, which spontaneously generates an extra electrophoresis component. Moreover, the smaller the conducting liquid metal droplet is, the faster it moves in general, which means a smaller LMD nanomedicine is preferred. These findings demonstrate the superior features of an LMD nanomedicine in drug delivery. Full article

Self-propelled chemical micro/nanomotors (MNMs) have demonstrated considerable potential in targeted drug delivery, (bio)sensing, and environmental remediation due to their autonomous nature and possible intelligent self-targeting behaviors (e.g., chemotaxis and phototaxis). However, these MNMs are commonly limited by their primary propulsion mechanisms of self-electrophoresis and electrolyte self-diffusiophoresis, making them prone to quenching in high electrolyte environments. Thus, the swarming behaviors of chemical MNMs in high-electrolyte media remain underexplored, despite their potential to enable the execution of complex tasks in high-electrolyte biological media or natural waters. In this study, we develop ultrasmall tubular nanomotors that exhibit ion-tolerant propulsions and collective behaviors. Upon vertical upward UV irradiation, the ultrasmall Fe₂O₃ tubular nanomotors (Fe₂O₃ TNMs) demonstrate positive superdiffusive photogravitaxis and can further self-organize into nanoclusters near the substrate in a reversible manner. After self-organization, the Fe₂O₃ TNMs exhibit a pronounced emergent behavior, allowing them to switch from random superdiffusions to ballistic motions near the substrate. Even at a high electrolyte concentration (C_e), the ultrasmall Fe₂O₃ TNMs retain a relatively thick electrical double layer (EDL) compared to their size, and the electroosmotic slip flow in their EDL is strong enough to propel them and induce phoretic interactions among them. As a result, the nanomotors can rapidly concentrate near the substrate and then gather into motile nanoclusters in high-electrolyte environments. This work opens a gate for designing swarming ion-tolerant chemical nanomotors and may expedite their applications in biomedicine and environmental remediation. Full article

The double-faced Janus micro-motor, which utilizes the heterogeneity between its two hemispheres to generate self-propulsion, has shown great potential in water cleaning, drug delivery in micro/nanofluidics, and provision of power for a novel micro-robot. In this paper, we focus on the self-propulsion of a platinum–silica (Pt–SiO₂) spherical Janus micro-motor (JM), which is one of the simplest micro-motors, suspended in a hydrogen peroxide solution (H₂O₂). Due to the catalytic decomposition of H₂O₂ on the Pt side, the JM is propelled by the established concentration gradient known as diffusoiphoretic motion. Furthermore, as the JM size increases to O (10 μm), oxygen molecules nucleate on the Pt surface, forming microbubbles. In this case, a fast bubble propulsion is realized by the microbubble cavitation-induced jet flow. We systematically review the results of the above two distinct mechanisms: self-diffusiophoresis and microbubble propulsion. Their typical behaviors are demonstrated, based mainly on experimental observations. The theoretical description and the numerical approach are also introduced. We show that this tiny motor, though it has a very simple structure, relies on sophisticated physical principles and can be used to fulfill many novel functions. Full article