Issue 38, 2022

Obstacle-induced giant jammed aggregation of active semiflexible filaments

Abstract

Filaments driven by bound motor proteins and chains of self-propelled colloidal particles are a typical example of active polymers (APs). Due to deformability, APs exhibit very rich dynamic behaviors and collective assembling structures. Here, we are concerned with a basic question: how APs behave near a single obstacle? We find that, in the presence of a big single obstacle, the assembly of APs becomes a two-state system, i.e. APs either gather nearly completely together into a giant jammed aggregate (GJA) on the surface of the obstacle or distribute freely in space. No partial aggregation is observed. Such a complete aggregation/collection is unexpected since it happens on a smooth convex surface instead of, e.g., a concave wedge. We find that the formation of a GJA experiences a process of nucleation and the curves of the transition between the GJA and the non-aggregate state form hysteresis-like loops. Statistical analysis of massive data on the growing time, chirality and angular velocity of both the GJAs and the corresponding nuclei shows the strong random nature of the phenomenon. Our results provide new insights into the behavior of APs in contact with porous media and also a reference for the design and application of polymeric active materials.

Graphical abstract: Obstacle-induced giant jammed aggregation of active semiflexible filaments

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Jun 2022
Accepted
11 Sep 2022
First published
13 Sep 2022

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022,24, 23779-23789

Obstacle-induced giant jammed aggregation of active semiflexible filaments

Y. Wang, Y. Gao, W. Tian and K. Chen, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 23779 DOI: 10.1039/D2CP02819K

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