Self-Solidifying Active Droplets Showing Memory-Induced Chirality

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Abstract

Most synthetic microswimmers do not reach the autonomy of their biological counterparts in terms of energy supply and diversity of motions. Here, this work reports the first all-aqueous droplet swimmer powered by self-generated polyelectrolyte gradients, which shows memory-induced chirality while self-solidifying. An aqueous solution of surface tension–lowering polyelectrolytes self-solidifies on the surface of acidic water, during which polyelectrolytes are gradually emitted into the surrounding water and induce linear self-propulsion via spontaneous symmetry breaking. The low diffusion coefficient of the polyelectrolytes leads to long-lived chemical trails which cause memory effects that drive a transition from linear to chiral motion without requiring any imposed symmetry breaking. The droplet swimmer is capable of highly efficient removal (up to 85%) of uranium from aqueous solutions within 90 min, benefiting from self-propulsion and flow-induced mixing. These results provide a route to fueling self-propelled agents which can autonomously perform chiral motion and collect toxins.

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Feng, K., Ureña Marcos, J. C., Mukhopadhyay, A. K., Niu, R., Zhao, Q., Qu, J., & Liebchen, B. (2023). Self-Solidifying Active Droplets Showing Memory-Induced Chirality. Advanced Science, 10(27). https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202300866

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