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Title: Emergence of reconfigurable wires and spinners via dynamic self-assembly

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep09528· OSTI ID:1200895
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4]
  1. Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubliana (Slovenia). Complex Matter Dept.
  2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Engineering Science and Applied Mathematics.
  3. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
  4. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Dissipative colloidal materials use energy to generate and maintain structural complexity. The energy injection rate, and properties of the environment are important control parameters that influence the outcome of dynamic self-assembly. Here we demonstrate that dispersions of magnetic microparticles confined at the air-liquid interface, and energized by a uniaxial in-plane alternating magnetic field, self-assemble into a variety of structures that range from pulsating clusters and single-particle-thick wires to dynamic arrays of spinners (self-assembled short chains) rotating in either direction. The spinners emerge via spontaneous breaking of the uniaxial symmetry of the energizing magnetic field. Demonstration of the formation and disaggregation of particle assemblies suggests strategies to form new meso-scale structures with the potential to perform functions such as mixing and sensing.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science - Office of Basic Energy Sciences - Materials Sciences and Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; FG02-00ER45852
OSTI ID:
1200895
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1392516
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Vol. 5; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 45 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (14)

Confinement of surface spinners in liquid metamaterials journal December 2019
Flocking ferromagnetic colloids journal February 2017
Hydrodynamic self-assembly of active colloids: chiral spinners and dynamic crystals journal January 2019
Control of the Folding Dynamics of Self‐Reconfiguring Magnetic Microbots Using Liquid Crystallinity journal January 2020
Curvature-induced microswarming journal January 2017
Non-equilibrium steady-state colloidal assembly dynamics journal May 2019
Active turbulence in a gas of self-assembled spinners journal November 2017
Recent advances in manipulation of micro- and nano-objects with magnetic fields at small scales journal January 2020
Hydrodynamic assembly of active colloids: chiral spinners and dynamic crystals text January 2018
Stability and conductivity of self assembled wires in a transverse electric field journal October 2015
Reconfigurable structure and tunable transport in synchronized active spinner materials journal March 2020
Mesoscopic Self-Assembly: A Shift to Complexity journal June 2015
Assembly of 1D Granular Structures from Sulfonated Polystyrene Microparticles journal October 2017
Leveraging Collective Effects in Externally Driven Colloidal Suspensions: Experiments and Simulations text January 2018

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