Highly Efficient Active Colloids Driven by Galvanic Exchange Reactions

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Micromotors are propelled by a variety of chemical reactions, with most of them being of catalytic nature. There are, however, systems based on redox reactions, which show clear benefits for efficiency. Here, we broaden the spectrum of suitable reactions to galvanic exchange processes, or an electrochemical replacement of a solid metal layer with dissolved ionic species of a more noble metal. We study the details of motility and the influence of different reaction parameters to conclude that these galvanophoretic processes circumvent several steps that lose efficiency in catalytic micromotors. Furthermore, we investigate the chemical process, the charge, and flow conditions that lead to this highly efficient new type of active motility. Toward a better understanding of the underlying processes, we propose an electrokinetic model that we numerically solve via finite elements.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17015-17022
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume143
Issue number41
Publication statusPublished - 20 Oct 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 34523911