Self-propelled droplets

Self-propelled Leidenfrost droplets.

We report that liquids perform self-propelled motion when they are placed in contact with hot surfaces with asymmetric (ratchetlike) topology. The pumping effect is observed when the liquid is in the Leidenfrost regime (the film-boiling regime), for many liquids and over a wide temperature range. We propose that liquid motion is driven by a viscous force exerted by vapor flow between the solid ...

Self-propelled oil droplets consuming "fuel" surfactant.

A micrometer-sized oil droplet of 4-octylaniline containing 5 mol % of an amphiphilic catalyst exhibited a self-propelled motion, producing tiny oil droplets, in an aqueous dispersion of an amphiphilic precursor of 4-octylaniline. The tiny droplets on the surface of the self-propelled droplet were conveyed to the posterior surface and released to the aqueous solution. Thus the persistent moveme...

Self-propelled chemotactic ionic liquid droplets.

Herein we report the chemotactic behaviour of self-propelled droplets composed solely of the ionic liquid trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride ([P(6,6,6,14)][Cl]). These droplets spontaneously move along an aqueous-air boundary in the direction of chloride gradients to specific destinations due to asymmetric release of [P(6,6,6,14)](+) cationic surfactant from the droplet into the aqueous p...

Self-propelled droplets for extracting rare-earth metal ions.

We have developed self-propelled droplets having the abilities to detect a chemical gradient, to move toward a higher concentration of a specific metal ion (particularly the dysprosium ion), and to extract it. Such abilities rely on the high surface activity of di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) in response to pH and the affinity of DEHPA for the dysprosium ion. We used two external stimu...

Supporting Information Self-Propelled Chemotactic Ionic Liquid Droplets