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Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators

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Activity Induced Rigidity of Liquid Droplets.

Kaili Xie¹, Benjamin Gorin¹, Rory T Cerbus¹

¹Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, LOMA, UMR 5798, F-33405 Talence, France.

Physical Review Letters

|October 7, 2022

Summary

Active Janus particles in drops increase resistance to deformation. This particle activity enhances effective interfacial tension, aligning with theoretical predictions for active particle ensembles.

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Area of Science:

Soft matter physics
Colloidal science

Background:

Drops resist deformation via interfacial tension.
Active particles generate self-propulsion and exert forces.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how active Janus particles affect droplet deformation under extensional flow.
To quantify the increase in effective interfacial tension due to particle activity.

Main Methods:

Deforming liquid drops containing active Janus particles using extensional flow.
Analyzing deformation changes under varying particle concentrations and activity levels.
Comparing experimental results with theoretical models for active particle ensembles.

Main Results:

Encapsulating active Janus particles significantly increases a drop's resistance to deformation.
Laser illumination activates particles, leading to a measurable increase in effective interfacial tension or Laplace pressure.
The observed increase in effective tension closely matches a theoretical model for active particle pressure.

Conclusions:

Active Janus particles can effectively stiffen liquid drops, mimicking enhanced interfacial tension.
This study provides the first experimental validation of a 3D theoretical model for active particle-induced pressure.
The findings have implications for controlling the mechanical properties of soft materials and microfluidic systems.