posted on 2020-05-08, 14:20authored byChao Zhou, Nobuhiko Jessis Suematsu, Yixin Peng, Qizhang Wang, Xi Chen, Yongxiang Gao, Wei Wang
Spatiotemporal
coordination of a nanorobot ensemble is critical
for their operation in complex environments, such as tissue removal
or drug delivery. Current strategies of achieving this task, however,
rely heavily on sophisticated, external manipulation. We here present
an alternative, biomimetic strategy by which oscillating Ag Janus
micromotors spontaneously synchronize their dynamics as chemically
coupled oscillators. By quantitatively tracking the kinetics at both
an individual and cluster level, we find that synchronization emerges
as the oscillating entities are increasingly coupled as they approach
each other. In addition, the synchronized beating of a cluster of
these oscillating colloids was found to be dominated by substrate
electroosmosis, revealed with the help of an acoustic trapping technique.
This quantitative, systematic study of synchronizing micromotors could
facilitate the design of biomimetic nanorobots that spontaneously
communicate and organize at micro- and nanoscales. It also serves
as a model system for nonlinear active matter.