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Most available theoretical predictions for the self-diffusiophoretic motion of colloidal particles are based on the hydrodynamic thin boundary layer approximation in combination with a solvent body force due to a self-generated local solute…
In analogy to nanoscopic molecules that are composed of individual atoms, we consider an active "microswimmer molecule". It is built up from three individual magnetic colloidal microswimmers that are connected by harmonic springs and…
The geometric shape, symmetry, and topology of colloidal particles often allow for controlling colloidal phase behavior and physical properties of these soft matter systems. In liquid crystalline dispersions, colloidal particles with low…
The transport on top of a periodic two-dimensional hexagonal magnetic pattern of (i) a single macroscopic steel sphere, (ii) a doublet of wax/magnetite composite spheres, and (iii) an immiscible mixture of ferrofluid droplets with a…
Understanding the motion of particles with ligand-receptors is important for biomedical applications and material design. Yet, even among a single design, the prototypical DNA-coated colloids, seemingly similar micrometric particles hop or…
The unsteady motion of a gas-liquid interface, such as during splashing or atomization, often results in complex liquid structures embedded in the ambient fluid. Here we explore the use of skeletonization to identify the minimum amount of…
Artificial microswimmers are a new technology with promising microfluidics and biomedical applications, such as directed cargo transport, microscale assembly, and targeted drug delivery. A fundamental barrier to realising this potential is…
Capillary interactions can be used to direct assembly of particles adsorbed at fluid-fluid interfaces. Precisely controlling the magnitude and direction of capillary interactions to assemble particles into favoured structures for materials…
This paper describes an experimental study of filtration of a colloidal suspension using microfluidic devices. A suspension of micrometer-scale colloids flows through parallel slit-shaped pores at fixed pressure drop. Clogs and cakes are…
We investigate the slip boundary condition for single-phase flow past a chemically patterned surface. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that modulation of fluid-solid interaction along a chemically patterned surface induces a lateral…
The development of synthetic microswimmers has advanced our understanding of the fundamental self-propelled mechanisms of living systems. However, there are scarce studies at the microscale within highly structured anisotropic media, such…
A trapping mechanism for propelled colloidal particles based on an inhomogeneous drive is presented and studied by means of computer simulations. In experiments this method can be realized using photophoretic Janus particles driven by a…
We report on the dynamics of a soliton propagating on the surface of a fluid in a 4-m-long canal with a random or periodic bottom topography. Using a full space-and-time resolved wavefield measurement, we evidence, for the first time…
Colloidal building blocks with re-configurable shapes and dynamic interactions can exhibit unusual self-assembly behaviors and pathways. In this work, we consider the phase behavior of colloids coated with surface-mobile polymer brushes…
The spontaneous emergence of collective flows is a generic property of active fluids and often leads to chaotic flow patterns characterised by swirls, jets, and topological disclinations in their orientation field. However, the ability to…
Janus particles with the ability to move phoretically in self-generated chemical concentration gradients are model systems for active matter. Their motion typically consists of straight paths with rotational diffusion being the dominant…
The motion of an artificial micro-scale swimmer that uses a chemical reaction catalyzed on its own surface to achieve autonomous propulsion is fully characterized experimentally. It is shown that at short times, it has a substantial…
Catalytic microswimmers convert the chemical energy of a fuel into motion, sustaining spatial chemical gradients and fluid flows that drive their propulsion. This leads to unconventional individual behavior and the emergence of collective…
We demonstrate with experiments and simulations how microscopic self-propelled particles navigate through environments presenting complex spatial features, which mimic the conditions inside cells, living organisms and future lab-on-a-chip…
Colloids dispersed in nematic liquid crystals form topological composites in which colloid-associated defects mediate interactions while adhering to fundamental topological constraints. Better realising the promise of such materials…