Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme
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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik
DY 29: Spatially Extended Dynamical Systems
DY 29.7: Talk
Thursday, March 25, 2010, 15:30–15:45, H46
Self organizing networks of Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillator droplets — •Shashi Thutupalli1, Ralf Seemann1,2, and Stephan Herminghaus1 — 1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization, D-37073, Göttingen, Germany — 2Experimental Physics, Saarland University, 66041 Saarbrücken
Coupling via chemical communication is widespread in nature, such as in heart dynamics, neuronal networks, bacterial colonies, formation of tissues etc. In such systems, collective behavior emerges due to suitable interactions between the constituent individual elements. Here, we report on self organizing networks of water-in-oil emulsion droplets which exhibit coupled behavior using the non-linear Belousov Zhabotinsky (B-Z) reaction. Using microfluidic techniques, we form surfactant stabilized aqueous droplets (diameter: 50-200 microns) containing the B-Z reaction mixture in a surrounding oil phase. Due to diffusive mixing within the droplets, each individual droplet then acts as an oscillator with a time period (on the order of 10 - 100 seconds) determined by the chemical concentrations. Reaction induced motion of the droplets causes the initially spatially separated droplets to find each other and then aggregate to form droplet networks. The networks are held together by self forming surfactant bilayers between the droplets, which also seemingly act as conduits for chemical connections via ionic transfer. We report on the various phenomena in these droplet networks, such as phase coupled oscillations, bursting modes and coupled trigger waves and elucidate their possible mechanisms.