Related papers: Sequential tasks performed by catalytic pumps for …

The directed self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) using external fields guides the formation of sophisticated hierarchical materials but becomes less effective with decreasing particle size. As an alternative, electron-beam-driven…

We outline a basic strategy of how self-propulsion can be used to improve the yield of a typical colloidal self-assembly process. The success of this approach is predicated on the thoughtful design of the colloidal building block as well as…

Nanoscale single-electron pumps can be used to generate accurate currents, and can potentially serve to realize a new standard of electrical current based on elementary charge. Here, we use a silicon-based quantum dot with tunable tunnel…

We demonstrate non-adiabatic charge pumping utilizing a sequence of coherent oscillations between a superconducting island and two reservoirs. Our method, based on pulsed quantum state manipulations, allows to speedup charge pumping to a…

Artificial soft matter systems have appeared as important tools to harness mechanical motion for microscale manipulation. Typically, this motion is driven either by the external fields or by mutual interaction between the colloids. In the…

Active colloids and liquid crystals are capable of locally converting the macroscopically-supplied energy into directional motion and promise a host of new applications, ranging from drug delivery to cargo transport at the mesoscale. Here…

We present simulations indicating that it should be possible to construct a switchable nano-scale fluid pump, driven by exothermic surface reactions. Such a pump could, for instance, be controlled electro-chemically. In our simulations we…

Direct real time studies of reacting individual atoms in technologically important gold and platinum nanocatalysts in controlled reducing and oxidising gas environments and operating temperatures using novel environmental scanning…

We examine a classically-chaotic system consisting of two reservoirs of particles connected by a channel containing oscillating potential-energy barriers. We investigate whether such a system can preferentially pump particles from one…

Functionalizing colloids with reactive DNA linkers is a versatile way of programming self-assembly. DNA selectivity provides direct control over colloid-colloid interactions allowing the engineering of structures such as complex crystals or…

Active elastomeric liquid crystal particles with initial cylindrical shapes are obtained by means of soft lithography and polymerization in a strong magnetic field. Gold nanocrystals infiltrated into these particles mediate energy transfer…

A system of active colloidal particles driven by harmonic potentials to oscillate about the vertices of a regular polygon, with hydrodynamic coupling between all particles, is described by a piece-wise linear model which exhibits various…

We propose a scheme for producing directed motion in a lattice system by applying a periodic driving potential. By controlling the dynamics by means of the effect known as coherent destruction of tunneling, we demonstrate a novel…

A topological pump enables robust transport of quantized particles when the system parameters are varied in a cyclic process. In previous studies, topological pump was achieved inhomogeneous systems guaranteed by a topological invariant of…

Concurrent molecular dynamics simulations and ab initio calculations show that densification of silica under pressure follows a ubiquitous two-stage mechanism. First, anions form a close-packed sub-lattice, governed by the strong repulsion…

The creation and design of a plasma thruster are considered using a rotating cylindrical plasma flow in crossed magnetic fields. The thruster scheme uses this plasma guided by a permanent, radial and a time-dependent axial magnetic field.…

In this study of catalytic microfluidic reactors we show that, when optimally structured, these reactors share underlying scaling properties. The scaling is predicted theoretically and verified numerically. Furthermore, we show how to…

Chemically powered self-propelled colloids generate a motor force by converting locally a source of energy into directed motion, a process that has been explored both in experiments and in computational models. The use of active colloids as…

Custom-designed colloidal particles in an optical tweezers act as light-mills in a fluid. In particular, aqueous suspensions of capped colloids, in which half of the surface is covered with metal layers, are investigated. Due to their…

Unlike biological active matter that constantly adapt to their environment, the motors of synthetic active particles are typically agnostic to their surroundings and merely operate at constant force. Here, we design colloidal active rods…