Hydrodynamics of thermally-driven chiral propulsion and separation

TL;DR

This paper develops a hydrodynamic model showing how thermal gradients can propel and separate chiral structures in fluids, offering a simple method for chiral particle manipulation.

Contribution

It introduces a thermally-driven hydrodynamic framework for chiral propulsion and separation, enabling cost-effective experimental testing.

Findings

Chiral structures are propelled and separated by thermal gradients in fluid flow.

The fluid flow acquires a transverse chiral velocity component due to chiral particles.

The approach is simple and inexpensive for testing chiral separation strategies.

Abstract

Considerable effort has been directed towards the characterization of chiral mesoscale structures, as shown in chiral protein assemblies and carbon nanotubes. Here, we establish a thermally-driven hydrodynamic description for the actuation and separation of mesoscale chiral structures in a fluid medium. Cross flow of a Newtonian liquid with a thermal gradient gives rise to chiral structure propulsion and separation according to their handedness. In turn, the chiral suspension alters the liquid flow which thus acquires a transverse (chiral) velocity component. Since observation of the predicted effects requires a low degree of sophistication, our work provides an efficient and inexpensive approach to test and calibrate chiral particle propulsion and separation strategies.