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Published on: November 26, 2019
Self-Motility of an Active Particle Induced by Correlations in the Surrounding Solution
Alvaro Domínguez1,2, M N Popescu3, C M Rohwer3,4,5
1Física Teórica, Universidad de Sevilla, Apdo. 1065, 41080 Sevilla, Spain.
Abstract:
Current models of phoretic transport rely on molecular forces creating a "diffuse" particle-fluid interface. We investigate theoretically an alternative mechanism, in which a diffuse interface emerges solely due to a nonvanishing correlation length of the surrounding solution. This mechanism can drive self-motility of a chemically active particle. Numerical estimates indicate that the velocity can reach micrometers per second. The predicted phenomenology includes a bilinear dependence of the velocity on the activity and a possible double velocity reversal upon varying the correlation length.
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