Enhancing Rotational Diffusion Using Oscillatory Shear

Brian D. Leahy, Xiang Cheng, Desmond C. Ong, Chekesha Liddell-Watson, Itai Cohen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Taylor dispersion - shear-induced enhancement of translational diffusion - is an important phenomenon with applications ranging from pharmacology to geology. Through experiments and simulations, we show that rotational diffusion is also enhanced for anisotropic particles in oscillatory shear. This enhancement arises from variations in the particle's rotation (Jeffery orbit) and depends on the strain amplitude, rate, and particle aspect ratio in a manner that is distinct from the translational diffusion. This separate tunability of translational and rotational diffusion opens the door to new techniques for controlling positions and orientations of suspended anisotropic colloids. © 2013 American Physical Society.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume110
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - May 29 2013
Externally publishedYes

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