Ultrafast photomechanical transduction through thermophoretic implosion

Nikita Kavokine, Shuangyang Zou, Ruibin Liu, Antoine Niguès, Bingsuo Zou () and Lydéric Bocquet ()
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Nikita Kavokine: Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Diderot
Shuangyang Zou: Beijing Institute of Technology
Ruibin Liu: Beijing Institute of Technology
Antoine Niguès: Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Diderot
Bingsuo Zou: Beijing Institute of Technology
Lydéric Bocquet: Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Diderot

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Since the historical experiments of Crookes, the direct manipulation of matter by light has been both a challenge and a source of scientific debate. Here we show that laser illumination allows to displace a vial of nanoparticle solution over centimetre-scale distances. Cantilever-based force measurements show that the movement is due to millisecond-long force spikes, which are synchronised with a sound emission. We observe that the nanoparticles undergo negative thermophoresis, and ultrafast imaging reveals that the force spikes are followed by the explosive growth of a bubble in the solution. We propose a mechanism accounting for the propulsion based on a thermophoretic instability of the nanoparticle cloud, analogous to the Jeans’s instability that occurs in gravitational systems. Our experiments demonstrate a new type of laser propulsion and a remarkably violent actuation of soft matter, reminiscent of the strategy used by certain plants to propel their spores.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13912-w

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