title: Reversible swarming and separation of self-propelled chemically powered nanomotors under acoustic fields.
abstract: The collective behavior of biological systems has inspired efforts toward the controlled assembly of synthetic nanomotors. Here we demonstrate the use of acoustic fields to induce reversible assembly of catalytic nanomotors, controlled swarm movement, and separation of different nanomotors. The swarming mechanism relies on the interaction between individual nanomotors and the acoustic field, which triggers rapid migration and assembly around the nearest pressure node. Such on-demand assembly of catalytic nanomotors is extremely fast and reversible. Controlled movement of the resulting swarm is illustrated by changing the frequency of the acoustic field. Efficient separation of different types of nanomotors, which assemble in distinct swarming regions, is illustrated. The ability of acoustic fields to regulate the collective behavior of catalytic nanomotors holds considerable promise for a wide range of practical applications.
authors: Departments of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, California 92093, United States.
authors: Tailin
authors: T
authors: Xu
authors: Fernando
authors: F
authors: Soto
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Gao
authors: Renfeng
authors: R
authors: Dong
authors: Victor
authors: V
authors: Garcia-Gradilla
authors: Ernesto
authors: E
authors: Magaña
authors: Xueji
authors: X
authors: Zhang
authors: Joseph
authors: J
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D002384:Catalysis; D049329:Nanostructures