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Carlos Silvera Batista - Vanderbilt University

Host: Lauren Zarzar

"Colloidal Dynamics under Electrodiffusiophoresis"

Abstract: Colloidal materials display impressive features such as dynamic assembly and self-propulsion. These features are promising for achieving advanced materials that mimic the versatility of natural systems. Although electric fields are widely used to tune the transport and interparticle interactions of colloidal materials, dynamics is rarely studied under coupled gradients in electrical potential, and concentration of electroactive species (electrodiffusiophoresis). Therefore, electrodiffusiophoresis (EDP) remains a vastly underutilized mode of transport. In this work, we aim to uncover the physics governing the individual and collective dynamics of charged colloids under EDP. The research approach consists in the study of pairwise interactionsand collective dynamics under complex concentration profiles, while mechanistic insights are obtained through transport analysis. In this talk, I will discuss how EDP enables versatile colloidal interactions that leads to artificial chemotaxis. The results from this research effort, not only have significant implications for fundamental understanding in ac colloidal electrokinetics, but also suggest a new set of possibilities for the dynamic assembly of materials and the design of responsive matter.