Formation of a multiscale aggregate structure through spontaneous blebbing of an interface

Sol-gel transition programmed self-propulsion of chitosan hydrogel

Active soft materials exhibit various dynamics ranging from boat pulsation to thin membrane deformation. In the present work, in situ prepared ethanol-containing chitosan gels propel in continuous and intermittent motion. The active life of the organic material loaded to the constant fuel level follows a linear scaling, and its maximal velocity and projection area decrease steeply with chitosan concentration. A thin propelling platelet forms at low polymer content, leading to the suppression of intermittent motion. Moreover, the fast accelerating thin gels can split into a crescent and circular-like shape or fission into multiple asymmetric fragments.

Spontaneous deformation and fission of oil droplets on an aqueous surfactant solution

We investigated the spontaneous deformation and fission of a tetradecane droplet containing palmitic acid (PA) on a stearyltrimethylammonium chloride (STAC) aqueous solution. In this system, the generation and rupture of the gel layer composed of PA and STAC induce the droplet deformation and fission. To investigate the characteristics of the droplet-fission dynamics, we obtained the time series of the number of the droplets produced by fission and confirmed that the number has a peak at a certain STAC concentration. Since the fission of the droplet should be led by the deformation, we analyzed four parameters which may relate to the fission dynamics from the spatiotemporal correlation of the droplet-boundary velocity. We found that the parameter which corresponds to the expansion speed had the strongest positive correlation among them, and thus we concluded that the faster deformation would be the key factor for the fission dynamics.

Flow instabilities due to the interfacial formation of surfactant-fatty acid material in a Hele-Shaw cell

We present an experimental study of pattern formation during the penetration of an aqueous surfactant solution into a liquid fatty acid in a Hele-Shaw cell. When a solution of the cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride is injected into oleic acid, a wide variety of fingering patterns are observed as a function of surfactant concentration and flow rate, which are strikingly different than the classic Saffman-Taylor (ST) instability. We observe evidence of interfacial material forming between the two liquids, causing these instabilities. Moreover, the number of fingers decreases with increasing flow rate Q, while the average finger width increases with Q, both trends opposite to the ST case. Bulk rheology on related mixtures indicates a gel-like state. Comparison of experiments using other oils indicates the importance of pH and the carboxylic head group in the formation of the surfactant-fatty acid material.

Complex, Dynamic Behavior of Extremely Asymmetric Di-n-Alkylphosphate-Anion Aggregates, the Long-Chain Effect and the Role of a Limiting Size: Cryo-TEM, SANS, and X-Ray Diffraction Studies

For extremely asymmetric n-hexyl(n-decyl)phosphate (HDeP), n-hexyl(n-dodecyl)phosphate (HDoP), and n-hexyl(n-cetyl)phosphate (HCeP), the effect of the long-chains on the dynamic behavior of their aggregate structures in water was examined by cryo-TEM imaging, SANS, and X-ray diffraction techniques. The cryo-TEM images demonstrated the complex and dynamic behavior of the aggregates, and its dependence on the length of the long-chain. Application of the one-dimensional aggregate theory to the SANS results led to the conclusion that the existence of a limiting size also depended on the length of the main long-hydrocarbon chain and affected strongly the dynamic behavior of the aggregates, causing breakage of thread-like micelles or ribbon-like aggregates. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the lyotropic liquid crystalline samples of HDeP and HCeP were used to estimate the aggregate structures of this limited size.

Self-Propelled Oil Droplets and Their Morphological Change to Giant Vesicles Induced by a Surfactant Solution at Low pH

Unique dynamics using inanimate molecular assemblies based on soft matter have drawn much attention for demonstrating far-from-equilibrium chemical systems. However, there are no soft matter systems that exhibit a possible pathway linking the self-propelled oil droplets to formation of giant vesicles stimulated by low pH. In this study, we conceived an experimental oil-in-water emulsion system in which flocculated particles composed of a imine-containing oil transformed to spherical oil droplets that self-propelled and, after coming to rest, formed membranous figures. Finally, these figures became giant vesicles. From NMR, pH curves, and surface tension measurements, we determined that this far-from-equilibrium phenomenon was due to the acidic hydrolysis of the oil, which produced a benzaldehyde derivative as an oil component and a primary amine as a surfactant precursor, and the dynamic behavior of the hydrolytic products in the emulsion system. These findings afforded us a potential linkage between mobile droplet-based protocells and vesicle-based protocells stimulated by low pH.

Mechanism of Spontaneous Blebbing Motion of an Oil-Water Interface: Elastic Stress Generated by a Lamellar-Lamellar Transition

A quaternary system composed of surfactant, cosurfactant, oil, and water showing spontaneous motion of the oil-water interface under far-from-equilibrium condition is studied in order to understand nanometer-scale structures and their roles in spontaneous motion. The interfacial motion is characterized by the repetitive extension and retraction of spherical protrusions at the interface, i.e, blebbing motion. During the blebbing motion, elastic aggregates are accumulated, which were characterized as surfactant lamellar structures with mean repeat distances d of 25 to 40 nm. Still unclear is the relationship between the structure formation and the dynamics of the interfacial motion. In the present study, we find that a new lamellar structure with d larger than 80 nm is formed at the blebbing oil-water interface, while the resultant elastic aggregates, which are the one reported before, have a lamellar structure with smaller d (25 to 40 nm). Such transition of lamellar structures from the larger d to smaller d is induced by a penetration of surfactants from an aqueous phase into the aggregates. We propose a model in which elastic stress generated by the transition drives the blebbing motion at the interface. The present results explain the link between nanometer-scale transition of lamellar structure and millimeter-scale dynamics at an oil-water interface.

How faceted liquid droplets grow tails

Liquid droplets, widely encountered in everyday life, have no flat facets. Here we show that water-dispersed oil droplets can be reversibly temperature-tuned to icosahedral and other faceted shapes, hitherto unreported for liquid droplets. These shape changes are shown to originate in the interplay between interfacial tension and the elasticity of the droplet's 2-nm-thick interfacial monolayer, which crystallizes at some T = Ts above the oil's melting point, with the droplet's bulk remaining liquid. Strikingly, at still-lower temperatures, this interfacial freezing (IF) effect also causes droplets to deform, split, and grow tails. Our findings provide deep insights into molecular-scale elasticity and allow formation of emulsions of tunable stability for directed self-assembly of complex-shaped particles and other future technologies.

Molecular System for the Division of Self-Propelled Oil Droplets by Component Feeding

Unique dynamics using inanimate molecular assemblies have drawn a great amount of attention for demonstrating prebiomimetic molecular systems. For the construction of an organized logic combining two fundamental dynamics of life, we demonstrate here a molecular system that exhibits both division and self-propelled motion using oil droplets. The key molecule of this molecular system is a novel cationic surfactant containing a five-membered acetal moiety, and the molecular system can feed the self-propelled oil droplet composed of a benzaldehyde derivative and an alkanol. The division dynamics of the self-propelled oil droplets were observed through the hydrolysis of the cationic surfactant in bulk solution. The mechanism of the current dynamics is argued to be based on the supply of "fresh" oil components in the moving oil droplets, which is induced by the Marangoni instability. We consider this molecular system to be a prototype of self-reproducing inanimate molecular assembly exhibiting self-propelled motion.

Multiple-division of self-propelled oil droplets through acetal formation

We demonstrate a novel system that exhibits both self-propelled motion and division of micrometer-sized oil droplets induced by chemical conversion of the system components. Such unique dynamics were observed in an oil-in-water emulsion of a benzaldehyde derivative, an alkanol and a cationic surfactant at a low pH.