Publications

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Phase separation around a heated colloid in bulk and under confinement Roy, S., Maciolek, A. Soft Matter, 14(46):9326-9335, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, September 2018 DOI BibTeX

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Chemical micromotors self-assemble and self-propel by spontaneous symmetry breaking Yu, T., Chuphal, P., Thakur, S., Reigh, S. Y., Singh, D. P., Fischer, P. Chemical Communications, 54(84):11933-11936, August 2018 (Published)

Abstract ›

Self-propelling chemical motors have thus far required the fabrication of Janus particles with an asymmetric catalyst distribution. Here, we demonstrate that simple, isotropic colloids can spontaneously assemble to yield dimer motors that self-propel. In a mixture of isotropic titanium dioxide colloids with photo-chemical catalytic activity and passive silica colloids, light illumination causes diffusiophoretic attractions between the active and passive particles and leads to the formation of dimers. The dimers constitute a symmetry-broken motor, whose dynamics can be fully controlled by the illumination conditions. Computer simulations reproduce the dynamics of the colloids and are in good agreement with experiments. The current work presents a simple route to obtain large numbers of self-propelling chemical motors from a dispersion of spherically symmetric colloids through spontaneous symmetry breaking.

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Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Chemotaxis of Active Janus Nanoparticles Popescu, M. N., Uspal, W. E., Bechinger, C., Fischer, P. Nano Letters, 18(9):5345-5349, July 2018 (Published)

Abstract ›

While colloids and molecules in solution exhibit passive Brownian motion, particles that are partially covered with a catalyst, which promotes the transformation of a fuel dissolved in the solution, can actively move. These active Janus particles are known as “chemical nanomotors” or self-propelling “swimmers” and have been realized with a range of catalysts, sizes, and particle geometries. Because their active translation depends on the fuel concentration, one expects that active colloidal particles should also be able to swim toward a fuel source. Synthesizing and engineering nanoparticles with distinct chemotactic properties may enable important developments, such as particles that can autonomously swim along a pH gradient toward a tumor. Chemotaxis requires that the particles possess an active coupling of their orientation to a chemical gradient. In this Perspective we provide a simple, intuitive description of the underlying mechanisms for chemotaxis, as well as the means to analyze and classify active particles that can show positive or negative chemotaxis. The classification provides guidance for engineering a specific response and is a useful organizing framework for the quantitative analysis and modeling of chemotactic behaviors. Chemotaxis is emerging as an important focus area in the field of active colloids and promises a number of fascinating applications for nanoparticles and particle-based delivery.

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Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Coalescence preference and droplet size inequality during fluid phase segregation Roy, S. EPL, 121(3):34001, EDP Science, Les-Ulis, April 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Solvent coarsening around colloids driven by temperature gradients Roy, S., Dietrich, S., Maciolek, A. Physical Review E, 97(4):042603, American Physical Society, Melville, NY, April 2018 DOI BibTeX

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Photogravitactic Microswimmers Singh, D. P., Uspal, W. E., Popescu, M. N., Wilson, L. G., Fischer, P. Advanced Functional Materials, 28(25):1706660, February 2018 (Published)

Abstract ›

Abstract Phototactic microorganisms are commonly observed to respond to natural sunlight by swimming upward against gravity. This study demonstrates that synthetic photochemically active microswimmers can also swim against gravity. The particles initially sediment and, when illuminated at low light intensities exhibit wall‐bound states of motion near the bottom surface. Upon increasing the intensity of light, the artificial swimmers lift off from the wall and swim against gravity and away from the light source. This motion in the bulk has been further confirmed using holographic microscopy. A theoretical model is presented within the framework of self‐diffusiophoresis, which allows to unequivocally identify the photochemical activity and the phototactic response as key mechanisms in the observed phenomenology. Since the lift‐off threshold intensity depends on the particle size, it can be exploited to selectively address particles with the same density from a polydisperse mixture of active particles and move them in or out of the boundary region. This study provides a simple design strategy to fabricate artificial microswimmers whose two‐ or three‐dimensional swimming behavior can be controlled with light.

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Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article A ferronematic slab in external magnetic fields Zarubin, G., Bier, M., Dietrich, S. Soft Matter, 14(48):9806-9818, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Active microrheology in corrugated channels Puertas, A. M., Malgaretti, P., Pagonabarraga, I. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 149(17):174908, American Institute of Physics, Woodbury, N.Y., 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Autophoretic motion in three dimensions Lisicki, M., Reigh, S., Lauga, E. Soft Matter, 14(17):3304-3314, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Bacterial Biohybrid Microswimmers Bastos-Arrieta, J., Revilla-Guarinos, A., Uspal, W., Simmchen, J. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 5:97, Frontiers Media, Lausanne, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Calculating the motion of highly confined, arbitrary-shaped particles in Hele-Shaw channels Bet, B., Georgiev, R., Uspal, W. E., Eral, H. B., van Roij, R., Samin, S. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 22(8):77, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Charge polarization, local electroneutrality breakdown and eddy formation due to electroosmosis in varying-section channels Chinappi, M., Malgaretti, P. Soft Matter, 14(45):9083-9087, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Chiral liquid crystal colloids Yuan, Y., Martinez, A., Senyuk, B., Tasinkevych, M., Smalyukh, I. I. Nature Materials, 17(1):71-79, Nature Pub. Group, London, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Collective behavior of colloids due to critical Casimir interactions Maciolek, A., Dietrich, S. Reviews of Modern Physics, 90(4):045001, American Physical Society, Minneapolis, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Core - shell microspheres for the ultrafast degradation of estrogen hormone at neutral pH Villa, K., Parmar, J., Vilela, D., Sánchez, S. RSC Advances, 8(11):5840-5847, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Critical Casimir interactions and percolation: The quantitative description of critical fluctuations Vasilyev, O. Physical Review E, 98(6):062138, American Physical Society, Melville, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Cross-stream migration of active particles Katuri, J., Uspal, W., Simmchen, J., López, A. M., Sánchez, S. Science Advances, 4(1):eaao1755, AAAS, Washington, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Cu@TiO2 Janus microswimmers with a versatile motion mechanism Wang, L. L., Popescu, M. N., Stavale, F., Ali, A., Gemming, T., Simmchen, J. Soft Matter, 14(34):6969-6973, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Curvature corrections to the nonlocal interfacial model for short-ranged forces Romero-Enrique, J., Squarcini, A., Parry, A. O., Goldbart, P. M. Physical Review E, 97(6):062804, American Physical Society, Melville, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Diffusiophoretically induced interactions between chemically active and inert particles Reigh, S., Chuphal, P., Thakur, S., Kapral, R. Soft Matter, 14(29):6043-6057, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Directed Flow of Micromotors through Alignment Interactions with Micropatterned Ratchets Katuri, J., Caballero, D., Voituriez, R., Samitier, J., Sánchez, S. ACS Nano, 12(7):7282-7291, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Master Thesis Dynamics of an active particle in confined viscous flows Pöhnl, R. Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2018 BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Effective Interactions between Chemically Active Colloids and Interfaces Popescu, M. N., Uspal, W. E., Dominguez, A., Dietrich, S. Accounts of Chemical Research, 51(12):2991-2997, American Chemical Society, Easton, Pa., 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Effective Landau theory of ferronematics Zarubin, G., Bier, M., Dietrich, S. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 149(5):054505, American Institute of Physics, Woodbury, N.Y., 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Ph.D. Thesis Effective interactions between colloidal particles in critical solvents Labbe-Laurent, M. Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2018 DOI URL BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Effective squirmer models for self-phoretic chemically active spherical colloids Popescu, M. N., Uspal, W. E., Eskandari, Z., Tasinkevych, M., Dietrich, S. The European Physical Journal E, 41(12):145, EDP Sciences; Società Italiana di Fisica; Springer, Les Ulis; Bologna; Heidelberg, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Ph.D. Thesis Electrolyte solutions and simple fluids at curved walls Reindl, A. Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2018 DOI URL BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Electrolyte solutions at heterogeneously charged substrates Mußotter, M., Bier, M., Dietrich, S. Soft Matter, 14(20):4126-4140, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Bachelor Thesis Electrostatic interaction between colloids with constant surface potentials at fluid interfaces Bebon, R. Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2018 BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Electrostatic interaction between dissimilar colloids at fluid interfaces Majee, A., Schmetzer, T., Bier, M. Physical Review E, 97(4):042611, American Physical Society, Melville, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Electrostatic interaction of particles trapped at fluid interfaces: effects of geometry and wetting properties Majee, A., Bier, M., Dietrich, S. Soft Matter, 14(46):9436-9444, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Enzyme-Powered Nanobots Enhance Anticancer Drug Delivery Hortelao, A. C., Patino, T., Perez-Jiménez, A., Blanco, À., Sánchez, S. Advanced Functional Materials, 28(25):1705086 , Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Extrapolation to nonequilibrium from coarse-grained response theory Basu, U., Helden, L., Krüger, M. Physical Review Letters, 120(18):180604, American Physical Society, Woodbury, N.Y., 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article First-passage dynamics of linear stochastic interface models: numerical simulations and entropic repulsion effect Gross, M. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2018:033212, Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, England, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article First-passage dynamics of linear stochastic interface models: weak-noise theory and influence of boundary conditions Gross, M. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2018:033213, Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, England, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Fluctuational electrodynamics for nonlinear materials in and out of thermal equilibrium Soo, H., Krüger, M. Physical Review B, 97(4):045412, American Physical Society, Woodbury, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Physical Intelligence Article Fuel-free nanocap-like motors actuated under visible light Wang, X., Sridhar, V., Guo, S., Talebi, N., Miguel-Lopez, A., Hahn, K., van Aken, P. A., Sánchez, S. Advanced Functional Materials, 28(25):1705862, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Globulelike Conformation and Enhanced Diffusion of Active Polymers Bianco, V., Locatelli, E., Malgaretti, P. Physical Review Letters, 121(21):217802, American Physical Society, Woodbury, N.Y., 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Heat radiation and transfer in confinement Asheichyk, K., Krüger, M. Physical Review B, 98(19):195401, American Physical Society, Woodbury, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Inkjet printed flexible non-enzymatic glucose sensor for tear fluid analysis Romeo, A., Moya, A., Leung, T. S., Gabriel, G., Villa, R., Sánchez, S. Applied Materials Today, 10:133-141, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Local pressure for confined systems Malgaretti, P., Bier, M. Physical Review E, 97(2):022102, American Physical Society, Melville, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Medical imaging for the tracking of micromotors Vilela, D., Cossío, U., Parmar, J., Martínez-Villacorta, A. M., Gómez-Vallejo, V., Llop, J., Sánchez, S. ACS Nano, 12(2):1220-1227, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Microphase separation and the formation of ion conductivity channels in poly(ionic liquid)s: A coarse-grained molecular dynamics study Weyman, A., Bier, M., Holm, C., Smiatek, J. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 148(19):193824, American Institute of Physics, Woodbury, N.Y., 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Bachelor Thesis Monte Carlo study of colloidal structure formation at fluid interfaces Meiler, T. Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2018 BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Nanoscale Seebeck effect at hot metal nanostructures Ly, A., Majee, A., Würger, A. New Journal of Physics, 20:025001, IOP Publishing, Bristol, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Non-Equilibrium Relations for Bounded Rational Decision-Making in Changing Environments Grau-Moya, J., Krüger, M., Braun, D. A. Entropy, 20(1):1, 2018

Abstract ›

Living organisms from single cells to humans need to adapt continuously to respond to changes in their environment. The process of behavioural adaptation can be thought of as improving decision-making performance according to some utility function. Here, we consider an abstract model of organisms as decision-makers with limited information-processing resources that trade off between maximization of utility and computational costs measured by a relative entropy, in a similar fashion to thermodynamic systems undergoing isothermal transformations. Such systems minimize the free energy to reach equilibrium states that balance internal energy and entropic cost. When there is a fast change in the environment, these systems evolve in a non-equilibrium fashion because they are unable to follow the path of equilibrium distributions. Here, we apply concepts from non-equilibrium thermodynamics to characterize decision-makers that adapt to changing environments under the assumption that the temporal evolution of the utility function is externally driven and does not depend on the decision-maker’s action. This allows one to quantify performance loss due to imperfect adaptation in a general manner and, additionally, to find relations for decision-making similar to Crooks’ fluctuation theorem and Jarzynski’s equality. We provide simulations of several exemplary decision and inference problems in the discrete and continuous domains to illustrate the new relations.

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Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Bachelor Thesis Non-equilibrium dynamics of a binary solvent around heated colloidal particles Wilke, M. Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2018 BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Noncontinuous Super-Diffusive Dynamics of a Light-Activated Nanobottle Motor Xuan, M., Mestre, R., Gao, C., Zhou, C., He, Q., Sánchez, S. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 57(23):6838-6842, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article Nonequilibrium forces following quenches in active and thermal matter Rohwer, C. M., Solon, A., Kardar, M., Krüger, M. Physical Review E, 97(3):032125, American Physical Society, Melville, NY, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Article On the origin of forward-backward multiplicity correlations in pp collisions at ultrarelativistic energies Bravina, L., Bleibel, J., Zabrodin, E. Physics Letters B, 787:146-152, North-Holland, 2018 DOI BibTeX

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