Cooperative Chemotaxis of Magnesium Microswimmers for Corrosion Spotting |
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Authors: | Dr. Ileana-Alexandra Pavel Dr. Gerardo Salinas Dr. Maciej Mierzwa Dr. Serena Arnaboldi Patrick Garrigue Prof. Alexander Kuhn |
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Affiliation: | Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, ISM, UMR 5255, 33607 Pessac, France |
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Abstract: | Numerous artificial micro- and nanomotors, as well as various swimmers have been inspired by living organisms that are able to move in a coordinated manner. Their cooperation has also gained a lot of attention because the resulting clusters are able to adapt to changes in their environment and to perform complex tasks. However, mimicking such a collective behavior remains a challenge. In the present work, magnesium microparticles are used as chemotactic swimmers with pronounced collective features, allowing the gradual formation of macroscopic agglomerates. The formed clusters act like a single swimmer able to follow pH gradients. This dynamic behavior can be used to spot localized corrosion events in a straightforward way. The autonomous docking of the swimmers to the corrosion site leads to the formation of a local protection layer, thus increasing corrosion resistance and triggering partial self-healing. |
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Keywords: | microswimmers collective behavior corrosion chemotaxis pH gradient |
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