作者：Ran Niu*, Denis Botin, Julian Weber, Alexander Reinmüller, Thomas Palberg.
关键字：modular swimming, speed, assembly
论文来源：期刊
具体来源：Langmuir
发表时间：2017年

We report an experimental study on ion-exchange based modular microswimmers in low-salt water. Cationic ion exchange particles and passive cargo particles assemble into self-propelling complexes, showing self-propulsion at speeds of several micrometers per second over extended distances and times. We quantify the assembly and speed of the complexes for different combinations of ion-exchange particles and cargo particles, substrate types, salt types and concentrations, and cell geometries. Irrespective of the experimental boundary conditions, we observe a regular development of the assembly shape with increasing number of cargo. Moreover, the swimming speed increases stepwise upon increasing the number of cargo and then saturates at a maximum speed, indicating the active role of cargo in modular swimming. We propose a geometric model of self-assembly to describe the experimental observations in a qualitative way. Our study also provides some constraints for future theoretical modeling and simulation.

全文链接: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b00288