Bubble-propelled micromotors for enhanced transport of passive tracers.

Fluid convection and mixing induced by bubble-propelled tubular microengines are characterized using passive microsphere tracers. Enhanced transport of the passive tracers by bubble-propelled micromotors, indicated by their mean squared displacement (MSD), is dramatically larger than that observed in the presence of catalytic nanowires and Janus particle motors. Bubble generation is shown to play a dominant role in the effective fluid transport observed in the presence of tubular microengines. These findings further support the potential of using bubble-propelled microengines for mixing reagents and accelerating reaction rates. The study offers useful insights toward understanding the role of the motion of multiple micromotors, bubble generation, and additional factors (e.g., motor density and fuel concentration) upon the observed motor-induced fluid transport.

[1]  O. Schmidt,et al.  Catalytic microtubular jet engines self-propelled by accumulated gas bubbles. , 2009, Small.

[2]  Wei Gao,et al.  Organized self-assembly of Janus micromotors with hydrophobic hemispheres. , 2013, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[3]  M. Pumera.  Electrochemically powered self-propelled electrophoretic nanosubmarines. , 2010, Nanoscale.

[4]  G. Ozin,et al.  Fuel for thought: chemically powered nanomotors out-swim nature's flagellated bacteria. , 2010, ACS nano.

[5]  Geoffrey A Ozin,et al.  Synthetic self-propelled nanorotors. , 2005, Chemical communications.

[6]  Jonathan Howse,et al.  Importance of particle tracking and calculating the mean-squared displacement in distinguishing nanopropulsion from other processes. , 2012, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[7]  T. Mallouk,et al.  Understanding the efficiency of autonomous nano- and microscale motors. , 2013, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[8]  Ramin Golestanian,et al.  Self-motile colloidal particles: from directed propulsion to random walk. , 2007, Physical review letters.

[9]  Joseph Wang,et al.  Nanomachines: Fundamentals and Applications , 2013 .

[10]  Yanyan Cao,et al.  Catalytic nanomotors: autonomous movement of striped nanorods. , 2004, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[11]  Martin Pumera,et al.  Magnetic Control of Tubular Catalytic Microbots for the Transport, Assembly, and Delivery of Micro‐objects , 2010 .

[12]  Andrey Sokolov,et al.  Enhanced mixing and spatial instability in concentrated bacterial suspensions. , 2009, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[13]  Martin Pumera,et al.  Nanorobots: the ultimate wireless self-propelled sensing and actuating devices. , 2009, Chemistry, an Asian journal.

[14]  John G. Gibbs,et al.  Autonomously motile catalytic nanomotors by bubble propulsion , 2009 .

[15]  Peter Huang,et al.  Direct measurement of anisotropic near-wall hindered diffusion using total internal reflection velocimetry. , 2007, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[16]  Yiping Zhao,et al.  Designing catalytic nanomotors by dynamic shadowing growth. , 2007, Nano letters.

[17]  Wei Gao,et al.  Artificial enzyme-powered microfish for water-quality testing. , 2013, ACS nano.

[18]  A. Libchaber,et al.  Particle diffusion in a quasi-two-dimensional bacterial bath. , 2000, Physical review letters.

[19]  W. Xi,et al.  Self-propelled nanotools. , 2012, ACS nano.

[20]  Wei Wang,et al.  Small power: Autonomous nano- and micromotors propelled by self-generated gradients , 2013 .

[21]  Susana Campuzano,et al.  Bacterial isolation by lectin-modified microengines. , 2012, Nano letters.

[22]  Yang Wang,et al.  Enhanced diffusion due to active swimmers at a solid surface. , 2010, Physical review letters.

[23]  Oliver G. Schmidt,et al.  Rolled-up nanotech on polymers: from basic perception to self-propelled catalytic microengines. , 2011, Chemical Society reviews.

[24]  Oliver G. Schmidt,et al.  Versatile Approach for Integrative and Functionalized Tubes by Strain Engineering of Nanomembranes on Polymers , 2008 .

[25]  Sirilak Sattayasamitsathit,et al.  Highly efficient catalytic microengines: template electrosynthesis of polyaniline/platinum microtubes. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[26]  Martin Pumera,et al.  Concentric bimetallic microjets by electrodeposition , 2013 .

[27]  Samuel Sanchez,et al.  Catalytic Janus motors on microfluidic chip: deterministic motion for targeted cargo delivery. , 2012, ACS nano.

[28]  Daniela A Wilson,et al.  Autonomous movement of platinum-loaded stomatocytes. , 2012, Nature chemistry.

[29]  Fei Peng,et al.  Micro- and nano-motors for biomedical applications. , 2014, Journal of materials chemistry. B.

[30]  M. J. Kim,et al.  Enhanced diffusion due to motile bacteria , 2004 .

[31]  Samuel Sanchez,et al.  Self-Propelled Micromotors for Cleaning Polluted Water , 2013, ACS nano.

[32]  Alberto Escarpa,et al.  Micromotor-based high-yielding fast oxidative detoxification of chemical threats. , 2013, Angewandte Chemie.

[33]  Wei Gao,et al.  Nano/Microscale motors: biomedical opportunities and challenges. , 2012, ACS nano.

[34]  Fumio Oosawa,et al.  Interaction between particles suspended in solutions of macromolecules , 1958 .