https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-022-00247-6
Regular Article - Flowing Matter
Conditions for the propulsion of a colloid surrounded by a mesoscale phase separation
Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire PHENIX (Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux)), UMR 8234, F-75005 Paris, France
d
vincent.dahirel@sorbonne-universite.fr
Received:
7
July
2022
Accepted:
3
November
2022
Published online:
2
December
2022
We study a two-dimensional model of an active isotropic colloid whose propulsion is linked to the interactions between solute particles of the bath. The colloid catalyzes a chemical reaction in its vicinity, that yields a local phase separation of solute particles. The density fluctuations of solute particles result in the enhanced diffusion of the colloid. Using numerical simulations, we thoroughly investigate the conditions under which activity occurs, and we establish a state diagram for the activity of the colloid as a function of the parameters of the model. We use the generated data to unravel a key observable that controls the existence and the intensity of activity: The filling fraction of the reaction area. Remarkably, we finally show that propulsion also occurs in three-dimensional geometries, which confirms the interest of this mechanism for experimental applications.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
