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Preparation and 3D Tracking of Catalytic Swimming Devices

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Catalytic dimer nanomotors: continuum theory and microscopic dynamics.

Shang Yik Reigh¹, Raymond Kapral

¹Chemical Physics Theory Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada. sreigh@chem.utoronto.ca rkapral@chem.utoronto.ca.

|March 11, 2015

Summary

Chemically-powered sphere-dimer motors generate complex fluid flow fields. Their velocity depends on geometry, enabling the design of motors with specific characteristics for microscale applications.

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Area of Science:

Chemical engineering
Materials science
Physics of fluids

Background:

Synthetic micro- and nanomotors are crucial for microscale applications.
Motor dynamics are governed by self-generated concentration and fluid flow fields, influenced by motor geometry.
Sphere-dimer motors exhibit more complex fields than spherical Janus motors.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the concentration and solvent velocity fields generated by sphere-dimer motors.
To understand the near-field and far-field behavior of these fields.
To establish the relationship between motor geometry and motor velocity.

Main Methods:

Analytical continuum theory
Particle-based simulations
Derivation of motor velocity dependence on geometric factors.

Main Results:

Detailed characterization of concentration fields for sphere-dimer motors.
Description of complex near-field and point-force dipole far-field solvent velocity behavior.
Quantification of motor velocity dependence on sphere size and dimer bond length.

Conclusions:

Sphere-dimer motors offer tunable characteristics for microscale applications.
Geometric design is key to controlling motor performance and collective motion.
This work provides a framework for designing synthetic micro-motors with desired properties.