Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 2: Active Matter I (joint session BP/CPP/DY)

DY 2.2: Talk

Monday, March 18, 2024, 09:45–10:00, H 1028

Electric field driven active colloids moving in polymeric environments — •venkata manikantha sai ganesh tanuku, peter vogel, and thomas palberg — Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University

A dilute suspension of Janus particles (JPs) in a dense viscoelastic fluid, forms a natural setting to study their dynamics in surrounding doped with macromolecules such as polymers is crucial, as most of the target application media are complex in nature. In this study, we investigate the motion of AC electric field driven SiO2-Au JPs in the presence of concentrated amounts of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG). The transport of active particles is strongly influenced by the viscous medium and shows a dynamical jamming transition as a function of activity and medium density. For low activity, the active particle gets self-trapped in a cavity of its own making. Conversely, higher activity causes JP to push through the fluid, leaving behind a porous trail. At the given concentration of the PEG studied within these experiments two intriguing outcomes emerge: firstly, a JP can be immobilized and secondly, when two JPs move in the same direction, an unusual attraction occurs, causing the trailing JP to eventually catch up with the leading one in finite time.

Keywords: janus particles; viscous medium; polymeric environment; trapping; leader and follower behaviour