Oil droplets loaded with surfactant propel themselves with a velocity up to 6 mm s(-1) when they are placed in an aqueous phase of NaOH solution or buffer solution. The required driving force for such motion is generated on the interface of the droplets by the change in interfacial tension, due to deprotonation of the surfactant. This force induces Marangoni convection, which gives rise to a circulating flow inside the droplets. The droplets begin to move when the axis of this circulation deviates from the vertical line. This motion depends on the pH condition of the aqueous phase. When the initial value of pH is adjusted such that the pH exceeds the threshold at the equilibrium state, the droplets move spontaneously. It was seen that the droplets were independent of the material of the solid substrates because the droplets were not directly in contact with the surface of the substrate. The condition for the onset of this spontaneous motion was verified by comparing the prediction from the linear stability analysis with experiments. The stability analysis overestimates the value of the driving force, causing instability.

We have developed self-propelled droplets having the abilities to detect a chemical gradient, to move toward a higher concentration of a specific metal ion (particularly the dysprosium ion), and to extract it. Such abilities rely on the high surface activity of di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) in response to pH and the affinity of DEHPA for the dysprosium ion. We used two external stimuli as chemical signals to control droplet motion: a pH signal to induce motility and metal ions to induce directional sensing. The oil droplets loaded with DEHPA spontaneously move around beyond the threshold of pH even in a homogeneous pH field. In the presence of a gel block containing metal ions, the droplets show directional sensing and their motility is biased toward higher concentrations. The metal ions investigated can be arranged in decreasing order of directional sensing as Dy(3+)≫ Nd(3+) > Y(3+) > Gd(3+). Furthermore, the analysis of components by using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer reveals that the metal ions can be extracted from the environmental media to the interiors of the droplets. This system may offer alternative self-propelled nano/microscale machines to bubble thrust engines powered by asymmetrical catalysts.

Chemically driven self-propulsion of soft matter is useful for various applications because it can move toward a desired location, without external power fields, in response to chemical signals in environmental media. We have developed a suitable steering mechanism to maintain the orientation of self-propelled droplets loaded with surfactant in fluidic environments. A spatial gradient of alkaline-earth metal ions induces directional sensing. These metal ions can be arranged in descending order of directional sensing as Ba(2+) ∼ Sr(2+) > Ca(2+) > Mg(2+). On the other hand, the affinity between metal ions and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (DEHPA) decreases in the order as Ca(2+) > Ba(2+) > Sr(2+) > Mg(2+). To clarify the difference between the order of directional sensing and that of affinity, we investigated the effect of metal ions on the driving force to create asymmetric convection. We found that changes in the interfacial tension under nonequilibrium conditions play an important role in directional sensing.

The role of interfaces in influencing behavior of antiferromagnetic semiconductors has been studied in the new strained layer MnSe/ZnSe superlattice system, grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, with individual MnSe layers approaching the monolayer limit. Large paramagneticlike contributions to overall magnetization are observed at low temperatures. Such anomalous characteristics are interpreted in terms of frustration against antiferromagnetic ordering by microstructure effects at the heterointerfaces.