Issue 34, 2015

Glancing angle metal evaporation synthesis of catalytic swimming Janus colloids with well defined angular velocity

Abstract

The ability to control the degree of spin, or rotational velocity, for catalytic swimming devices opens up the potential to access well defined spiralling trajectories, enhance cargo binding rate, and realise theoretically proposed behaviour such as chiral diffusion. Here we assess the potential to impart a well-defined spin to individual catalytic Janus swimmers by using glancing angle metal evaporation onto a colloidal crystal to break the symmetry of the catalytic patch due to shadowing by neighbouring colloids. Using this approach we demonstrate a well-defined relationship between the glancing angle and the ratio of rotational to translational velocity. This allows batches of colloids with well-defined spin rates in the range 0.25 to 2.5 Hz to be produced. With reference to the shape and thickness variations across the catalytically active shapes, and their propulsion mechanism we discuss the factors that can lead to the observed variations in rotational propulsion.

Graphical abstract: Glancing angle metal evaporation synthesis of catalytic swimming Janus colloids with well defined angular velocity

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 May 2015
Accepted
27 Jul 2015
First published
28 Jul 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2015,11, 6872-6880

Author version available

Glancing angle metal evaporation synthesis of catalytic swimming Janus colloids with well defined angular velocity

R. J. Archer, A. I. Campbell and S. J. Ebbens, Soft Matter, 2015, 11, 6872 DOI: 10.1039/C5SM01323B

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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