Designing self-propelled, chemically active sheets: Wrappers, flappers, and creepers

Area of Science:

• Soft matter physics
• Chemical engineering
• Fluid dynamics

Background:

• Catalyst-coated particles generate fluid flows for propulsion.
• Deformable objects interacting with self-generated flows present unexplored phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the novel behaviors arising from the coupling of active, soft sheets and surrounding fluid dynamics.
• To explore how self-generated flows influence both the motion and shape of deformable sheets.

Main Methods:

• Developing theoretical models integrating chemical, hydrodynamic, and mechanical interactions.
• Simulating the behavior of catalyst-coated, deformable sheets in fluidic environments.

Main Results:

• Chemically generated flows sculpt soft sheets into diverse functional forms.
• Sheet geometry, catalyst patterning, and reaction cascades allow for tailored functionalities.
• Achieved spatial and temporal control over active sheet position and shape.

Conclusions:

• Active soft sheets offer a versatile platform for programmable microfluidic devices.
• Demonstrated potential for autonomous trapping of micro-objects, performing logic operations, and executing multistage processes.