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Efficient mixing of colloids, particles or molecules is a central issue inmany processes. It results from the complex interplay between flow deformationsand molecular diffusion, which is generally assumed to control thehomogenization processes. In this work we demonstrate on the contrary thatdespite fixed flow and self-diffusion conditions, the chaotic mixing ofcolloidal suspensions can be either boosted or inhibited by the sole additionof trace amount of salt as a co-mixing species. Indeed, this shows that localsaline gradients can trigger a chemically-driven transport phenomenon,diffusiophoresis, which controls the rate and direction of molecular transportfar more efficiently than usual Brownian diffusion. A simple model combiningthe elementary ingredients of chaotic mixing with diffusiophoretic transport ofthe colloids allows to rationalize our observations and highlights howsmall-scale out-of-equilibrium transport bridges to mixing at much largerscales in a very effective way. Considering chaotic mixing as a prototypalbuilding block for turbulent mixing, this suggests that these phenomena,occurring whenever the chemical environment is inhomogeneous, might bringinteresting perspective from micro-systems up to large-scale situations, withexamples ranging from ecosystems to industrial contexts.

How a "pinch of salt" can tune chaotic mixing of colloidal suspensions