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Autophoresis of a Janus particle near a planar wall: a lubrication limit

Tachin Ruangkriengsin1,*, Günther Turk2, and Howard A. Stone3,†

  • *Contact author: tachin@princeton.edu
  • †Contact author: hastone@princeton.edu
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 064103 – Published 24 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/l316-fvkl

Abstract

We study the self-diffusiophoresis of a spherical chemically active particle near a planar, impermeable wall, with a focus on the influence of particle orientation on propulsion. We analyze a Janus particle with asymmetric surface chemical activity, consisting of a small inert region within a catalytically active cap. While numerical simulations have been used to study such particles, they encounter difficulties resolving the flow and transport in the near-wall regime due to geometric confinement and steep solute concentration gradients. We address this limitation through an asymptotic analysis in the lubrication limit, where the gap between the particle and the wall is narrow. In particular, we consider the distinguished limit in which the inert region is asymptotically comparable in size to the lubrication region. We analyze an axisymmetric configuration in which the inert face is oriented parallel to the wall and extend the analysis to slightly tilted orientations. We find that the cap size determines whether a tilted particle rotates back toward the axisymmetric state or continues to reorient, thereby characterizing its rotational stability in the near-contact regime.

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Information

Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 064103– Published 24 June, 2026
  • Received 27 February 2026
  • Accepted 3 June 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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