6533b7dcfe1ef96bd1271e99
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Self-Assembly of Colloidal Molecules due to Self-Generated Flow.
Thomas PalbergThomas SpeckRan Niusubject
PhysicsCondensed Matter - Materials ScienceRange (particle radiation)FusionSolvent flowMaterials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)FOS: Physical sciencesGeneral Physics and Astronomy02 engineering and technologyCondensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology01 natural sciencesSymmetry (physics)ColloidClassical mechanicsFlow (mathematics)Chemical physics0103 physical sciencesSoft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)MoleculeSelf-assembly010306 general physics0210 nano-technologydescription
The emergence of structure through aggregation is a fascinating topic and of both fundamental and practical interest. Here we demonstrate that self-generated solvent flow can be used to generate long-range attractions on the colloidal scale, with subpiconewton forces extending into the millimeter range. We observe a rich dynamic behavior with the formation and fusion of small clusters resembling molecules. The dynamics of this assembly is governed by an effective conservative energy that for large separations r decays as 1/r. Breaking the flow symmetry, these clusters can be made active.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-02-23 | Physical review letters |