Trapping of interacting propelled colloidal particles in inhomogeneous media

Abstract

A trapping mechanism for propelled colloidal particles based on an inhomogeneous drive is presented and studied by means of computer simulations. In experiments this method can be realized using photophoretic Janus particles driven by a light source, which shines through a shading mask and leads to an accumulation of the particles in the passive part. An equation for an accumulation parameter is derived using the effective inhomogeneous diffusion constant generated by the inhomogeneous drive. The impact of particle interaction on the trapping mechanism is studied, as well as the interplay between passivity-induced trapping and the emergent self-clustering of systems containing a high density of active particles. The combination of both effects makes the clusters more controllable for applications.

arXiv comment7 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (18)

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• Phototaxis of synthetic microswimmers in optical landscapes
• Hydrodynamics of Active Defects: from order to chaos to defect ordering
• Active Brownian motion with orientation-dependent motility: theory and experiments
• Brownian systems with spatially inhomogeneous activity
• Dynamics of active particles with space-dependent swim velocity
• Pseudochemotaxis in inhomogeneous active Brownian systems
• Morphological transitions of active Brownian particle aggregates on porous walls
• Brush in the bath of active particles: anomalous stretching of chains and distribution of particles
• Spontaneous membrane formation and self-encapsulation of active rods in an inhomogeneous motility field
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• Effective interactions mediated between two permeable disks in an active fluid
• Active osmotic-like pressure on permeable inclusions