The dynamics of a self-phoretic Janus swimmer near a wall

作者：Yahaya Ibrahim, Tanniemola B. Liverpool · 发表于：Europhysics Letters (EPL) · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.1209/0295-5075/111/48008 · 被引用次数：59 · 研究领域：Micro and Nano Robotics、Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies、Molecular Communication and Nanonetworks

We study the effect of a nearby planar wall on the propulsion of a phoretic Janus micro-swimmer driven by asymmetric reactions on its surface which absorb reactants and generate products. We show that the behaviour of these swimmers near a wall can be classified based on whether the swimmers are mainly absorbing or producing reaction solutes and whether their swimming directions are such that the inert or active face is at the front. We find that the wall-induced solute gradients always promote swimmer propulsion along the wall while the effect of hydrodynamics leads to re-orientation of the swimming direction away from the wall.