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arXiv · 2306.16509

Hydrodynamics of thermally-driven chiral propulsion and separation

E. Kirkinis·A. V. Andreev·M. Olvera de la Cruz
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Abstract

Considerable effort has been directed towards the characterization of chiral mesoscale structures, as shown in chiral protein assemblies and carbon nanotubes. Here, we establish a thermally-driven hydrodynamic description for the actuation and separation of mesoscale chiral structures in a fluid medium. Cross flow of a Newtonian liquid with a thermal gradient gives rise to chiral structure propulsion and separation according to their handedness. In turn, the chiral suspension alters the liquid flow which thus acquires a transverse (chiral) velocity component. Since observation of the predicted effects requires a low degree of sophistication, our work provides an efficient and inexpensive approach to test and calibrate chiral particle propulsion and separation strategies.

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E. Kirkinis, A. V. Andreev, M. Olvera de la Cruz. 2023-06-28. Hydrodynamics of thermally-driven chiral propulsion and separation. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2023.941

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