Phototactic behavior of self-propelled micrometer-sized oil droplets in a surfactant solution
Sho Kaneko1, Kouichi Asakura1, Taisuke Banno1
1Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522, Japan. banno@applc.keio.ac.jp.
Abstract:
We demonstrate the phototactic behavior of self-propelled micrometer-sized oil droplets in the presence of azobenzene-containing surfactants. These droplets respond sensitively to UV light irradiation due to a variation in the interfacial tension at the droplet surface induced by the molecular conversion of the azobenzene-containing surfactants.
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