Self-propelling Active Particles & Microbots

Research Description

Velev’s group has demonstrated how miniature semiconductor diode “particles” suspended in water propel themselves electroosmotically. The diodes suggest rudimentary solutions to problems facing self-propelling microdevices, including harvesting power from external sources, internally controlled movement, and can be steered remotely.

Current Projects

Coming Soon!

Previous Projects

Field-Driven Assembly of Anisotropic Patchy Particles for Soft Microbotics KooHee Han

Assembly and actuation of anisotropic particles Wyatt Shields

Manipulation of Fluids and Particles on the Micro-scale with Evaporation-induced, Dielectrophoretic and Electrokinetic Forces SukTai Chang

Representative Publications

Ohiri, U.; Shields, C. W.; Han, K.; Tyler, T.; Velev, O. D.; Jokerst, N. Reconfigurable Engineered Motile Semiconductor Microparticles. Nature Communications 20189 (1), 1791. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04183-y

Han, K.; Shields, C.W., IV; Diwakar, N.M.; Bharti, B.; López, G.P.; Velev, O.D. Sequence-encoded colloidal origami and microbot assemblies from patchy magnetic cubes. Science Advances 2017. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701108.

Kleinert, J.; Kim, S., Velev, O. D. Electric-field-controlled flow in nanoscale-thin wetting films. Langmuir 201228, 3037−3044.

Velev, O. D.; Gangwal, S.; Petsev, D. N. Particle-localized AC and DC manipulation and electrokinetics. Annual Reports on the Progress of Chemistry, Section C: Physical Chemistry 2009105, 213–246.

Gangwal, S.; Cayre, O. J.; Bazant, M. Z.; Velev, O. D. Physical Review Letters 2008100, 058302.

Chang, S. T.; Paunov, V. N.; Petsev, D. N.; Velev, O. D. Remotely powered self-propelling particles and micropumps based on miniature diodes. Nature Materials 20076, 235–240.