The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Disintegrating polymer multilayers to jump-start colloidal micromotors

Disintegrating polymer multilayers to jump-start colloidal micromotors
Disintegrating polymer multilayers to jump-start colloidal micromotors

Colloidal systems with autonomous mobility are attractive alternatives to static particles for diverse applications. We present a complementary approach using pH-triggered disintegrating polymer multilayers for self-propulsion of swimmers. It is illustrated both experimentally and theoretically that homogenously coated swimmers exhibit higher velocity in comparison to their Janus-shaped counterparts. These swimmers show directional and random motion in microfluidic channels with a steep and shallow pH gradient, respectively. Further, a higher number of deposited polymer multilayers, steeper pH gradients and lower mass of the swimmers result in higher self-propulsion velocities. This new self-propulsion mechanism opens up unique opportunities to design, for instance, fast and yet biocompatible swimmers using the diverse tools of polymer chemistry to custom-synthesise the polymeric building blocks to assemble multilayers.

2040-3364
733-741
Fernández-Medina, Marina
637d02c4-8947-450f-a2c9-2416ba47d31b
Qian, Xiaomin
bc98e7fe-e579-4ce5-8c27-d6adf3a94df3
Hovorka, Ondrej
a12bd550-ad45-4963-aa26-dd81dd1609ee
Städler, Brigitte
75cc5b8f-414e-4ebf-a990-f8d5e876655d
Fernández-Medina, Marina
637d02c4-8947-450f-a2c9-2416ba47d31b
Qian, Xiaomin
bc98e7fe-e579-4ce5-8c27-d6adf3a94df3
Hovorka, Ondrej
a12bd550-ad45-4963-aa26-dd81dd1609ee
Städler, Brigitte
75cc5b8f-414e-4ebf-a990-f8d5e876655d

Fernández-Medina, Marina, Qian, Xiaomin, Hovorka, Ondrej and Städler, Brigitte (2019) Disintegrating polymer multilayers to jump-start colloidal micromotors. Nanoscale, 11 (2), 733-741. (doi:10.1039/c8nr08071b).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Colloidal systems with autonomous mobility are attractive alternatives to static particles for diverse applications. We present a complementary approach using pH-triggered disintegrating polymer multilayers for self-propulsion of swimmers. It is illustrated both experimentally and theoretically that homogenously coated swimmers exhibit higher velocity in comparison to their Janus-shaped counterparts. These swimmers show directional and random motion in microfluidic channels with a steep and shallow pH gradient, respectively. Further, a higher number of deposited polymer multilayers, steeper pH gradients and lower mass of the swimmers result in higher self-propulsion velocities. This new self-propulsion mechanism opens up unique opportunities to design, for instance, fast and yet biocompatible swimmers using the diverse tools of polymer chemistry to custom-synthesise the polymeric building blocks to assemble multilayers.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 11 December 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 12 December 2018
Published date: 14 January 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 428964
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/428964
ISSN: 2040-3364
PURE UUID: dd159642-f0b9-49cb-938c-985fbb823f74
ORCID for Ondrej Hovorka: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6707-4325

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 15 Mar 2019 17:30
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:52

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Marina Fernández-Medina
Author: Xiaomin Qian
Author: Ondrej Hovorka ORCID iD
Author: Brigitte Städler

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×