Affiliation:
1. Department of Physics, Hangzhou Dianzi University 1 , Hangzhou 310018, China
2. Chemical Physics Theory Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto 2 , Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
Abstract
Chemical shakers are active particles with zero propulsion velocity whose activity derives from chemical reactions on portions of their surfaces. Although they do not move, except through Brownian motion, the nonequilibrium concentration and velocity fields that they generate endow them with properties that differ from their equilibrium counterparts. In particular, collections of such shakers can actively move, reorient, and self-assemble into various cluster states, which are the subject of this paper. Elongated chemical shakers constructed from linked catalytic and noncatalytic spheres are considered, and it is shown how hydrodynamic, chemotactic, and shape-dependent interactions give rise to various self-assembled shaker structures. The chemical forces responsible for cluster formation are described in terms of a model based on pair-wise additive contributions. The forms of the self-assembled structures can be varied by changing the chemostat concentrations that control the nonequilibrium state. The resulting structures and their manipulation through chemical means suggest ways to construct a class of active materials for applications.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Government of Ontario
Ontario Research Foundation
University of Toronto