CAREER: Dynamics of Binary Anisotropic Magnetic Colloids

This award will address one of the main challenges in colloid science by developing a quantitative and numerical framework to model the equilibrium and dynamics of suspensions composed of particles with different shapes and material properties and their interactions in magnetic fields. The project will establish the connections between the interacting particles with different shapes and their arrangement under the influence of a magnetic field. The interrelation between the interacting particles to generate a dynamic actuation of the structures will be determined. The fundamental insights obtained through this project will help realize the potential of anisotropic colloids in different applications, such as tunable materials and multi-actuating nanorobots, polarized surfaces, magneto-rheology, active suspensions, drug delivery, and magnetic hyperthermia, among others. Additionally, this award will promote the participation of underrepresented groups through activities for local school students and undergraduate students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, developing course content in English and Spanish. Moreover, creating video and animated content on colloidal interactions and nanorobot manipulation in magnetic fields will educate the general public on how these interactions play an important role in colloidal technologies and how these assembled structures may affect our future life. This award will systematically advance the understanding of colloidal suspensions composed of ellipsoids by establishing new approaches to analyze and quantify the interactions of non-symmetric anisotropic colloidal particles, using binary systems to promote structures with different spatial order and orientational symmetry, and generating a theoretical framework that will enable a rational approach to novel applications. The project will develop a strong research program with a novel quantitative and numerical framework, using unit quaternion parameters and the novel ellipsoid-dipole approximation, to model the equilibrium and dynamic behavior of suspensions composed of ellipsoids with different shapes and material properties under the influence of magnetic fields. The project will develop a systematic analysis quantifying the interaction energy, force, and torque of ellipsoids with different shapes and material properties as a function of their relative positions and orientations. Furthermore, this award will advance the fundamental understanding of hydrodynamics, rheology, and nanotechnology by generating models that describe assembly of multi-actuating micro and nanorobots composed of ellipsoids and enabling rational approaches to advancing applications in assembly of polarized surfaces. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.