Whisky-inspired active matter

Mohamed, Khalifa and Henze, Kelly and Simmchen, Juliane (2026) Whisky-inspired active matter. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 18 (18). pp. 26998-27005. ISSN 1944-8252 (https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c00489)

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Abstract

Whisky is a valuable commodity around the world, partly due to its rich heritage and complex taste and scent. Analyses of the final product show a complex symphony of chemicals ranging from sulfides, phenols, and tannins to esters, serving as an imprint of the manufacturing and aging processes that each whisky goes through. A well-known reactivity between copper and sulfides during whisky making inspires the determination of whether this reactivity can be harnessed on the microscale. Our system uses spherical Cu@SiO2 Janus particles in aqueous solutions of dimethyl sulfide to determine the capacity of DMS to serve as a chemical fuel for the propulsion of microswimmers. Other sulfur-containing molecules, e.g., aliphatic mono- and disulfides, thiophene, thiazole, and thiols, are tested as well to determine their capacity for Cu@SiO2 Janus particle actuation. Our investigation identifies that water-soluble aliphatic monosulfides successfully actuate the microswimmers with velocities reaching up to 30 μm·s–1. We propose a possible underlying reaction mechanism for these fuels and discuss alternatives, e.g., DMSO and Cu2O are formed when DMS is used as a chemical fuel. To further reflect the whisky-inspired type of fuel, ethanol–water mixtures as the swimming medium are examined, and their effects on the swimming behavior of Cu@SiO2 Janus particles are evaluated. This work expands the array of fuels that can be used to propel microswimmers.

ORCID iDs

Simmchen, Juliane ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9073-9770

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• Item metadata

  Item type:	Article
  ID code:	95976
  Dates:	Date Event 13 May 2026 Published 20 April 2026 Published Online 1 April 2026 Accepted
  Subjects:	Science > Chemistry
  Department:	Faculty of Science > Pure and Applied Chemistry
  Depositing user:	Pure Administrator
  Date deposited:	09 Apr 2026 11:12
  Last modified:	03 Jun 2026 07:08
  URI:	https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/95976