%0 Journal Article
%A Yang, Mingcheng
%A Ripoll, Marisol
%A Chen, Ke
%T Catalytic microrotor driven by geometrical asymmetry
%J The journal of chemical physics
%V 142
%N 5
%@ 1089-7690
%C Melville, NY
%I American Institute of Physics
%M FZJ-2015-01507
%P 054902 
%D 2015
%X An asymmetric gear with homogeneous surface properties is, here, presented as a prototype to fabricate catalytic microrotors. The driving torque arises from the diffusiophoretic effect induced by the concentration gradients generated by catalytic chemical reactions at the gear surface. This torque produces a spontaneous and unidirectional rotation of the asymmetric gear. By means of mesoscopic simulations, we prove and characterize this scenario. The gear rotational velocity is determined by the gear-solvent interactions, the gear geometry, the solvent viscosity, and the catalytic reaction ratio. Our work presents a simple way to design self-propelled microrotors, alternative to existing catalytic bi-component, or thermophoretic ones.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000349614200038
%$ pmid:25662663
%R 10.1063/1.4906823
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/188021