Premium
Confined Bubble‐Propelled Microswimmers in Capillaries: Wall Effect, Fuel Deprivation, and Exhaust Product Excess
Author(s) -
Khezri Bahareh,
Novotný Filip,
Moo James Guo Sheng,
Nasir Muhammad Zafir Mohamad,
Pumera Martin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.202000413
Subject(s) - capillary action , nanotechnology , nano , catalysis , materials science , mechanics , chemistry , biochemical engineering , physics , engineering , composite material , organic chemistry
Abstract Self‐propelled autonomous nano/microswimmers are at the forefront of materials science. These swimmers are expected to operate in highly confined environments, such as between the grains of soil or in the capillaries of the human organism. To date, little attention is paid to the problem that in such a confined environment the fuel powering catalytic nano/microswimmers can be exhausted quickly and the space can be polluted with the product of the catalytic reaction. In addition, the motion of the nano/microswimmers may be influenced by the confinement. These issues are addressed here, showing the influence of the size of the capillary and length of the micromotor on the motion and the influence of the depletion of the fuel and excess of the exhaust products. Theoretical modeling is provided as well to bring further insight into the observations. This article shows challenges that these systems face and stimulates research to overcome them.