Preferred penetration of active nano-rods into narrow channels and their clustering
Journal
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Journal Volume
23
Journal Issue
30
Pages
16234-16241
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Abstract
In a channel connected to a reservoir, passive particles prefer staying in the reservoir than the channel due to the entropic effect, as the size of the particles is comparable to that of the channel. Self-propelled rods can exhibit out-of-equilibrium phenomena, and their partition behavior may differ from that of passive rods due to their persistent swimming ability. In this work, the distribution of active nano-rods between the nanoscale channel and reservoir is explored using dissipative particle dynamics. The ratio of the nano-rod concentration in the slit to that in the reservoir, defined as the partition ratioΨ, is a function of active force, channel width, and rod length. Although passive nano-rods prefer staying in bulk (Ψ< 1), active rods can overcome the entropic barrier and show favorable partition toward narrow channels (Ψ> 1). As the slit width decreases to about the rod's width, active rods entering the slit behave like a quasi-two-dimensional system dynamically. At sufficiently high concentrations and Peclet numbers, nano-rods tend to align and move together in the same direction for a certain time. The distribution (PM) of the cluster size (M) follows a power law,PM?M?2, for small clusters. ? the Owner Societies 2021.
Subjects
Entropy
Dissipative particle dynamics
Entropic barrier
Entropic effects
Nanoscale channels
Narrow channel
Out of equilibrium
Partition behaviors
Quasi-two-dimensional system
Nanorods
SDGs
Type
journal article