Electrokinetic Effects in Catalytic Pt-Insulator Janus Swimmers

The effect of added salt on the propulsion of Janus platinum-polystyrene colloids in hydrogen peroxide solution is studied experimentally. It is found that micromolar quantities of potassium and silver nitrate salts reduce the swimming velocity by similar amounts, while leading to significantly diff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2013-12
Main Authors: Ebbens, S, Gregory, D A, Dunderdale, G, Howse, J R, Ibrahim, Y, Liverpool, T B, Golestanian, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catalysis
Electrokinetic effects
Electrokinetics
Hydrogen peroxide
Nested loops
Platinum
Polystyrene resins
Swimming
Topology
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Summary:The effect of added salt on the propulsion of Janus platinum-polystyrene colloids in hydrogen peroxide solution is studied experimentally. It is found that micromolar quantities of potassium and silver nitrate salts reduce the swimming velocity by similar amounts, while leading to significantly different effects on the overall rate of catalytic breakdown of hydrogen peroxide. It is argued that the seemingly paradoxical experimental observations could be theoretically explained by using a generalised reaction scheme that involves charged intermediates and has the topology of two nested loops.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1312.6250