Wall effects on the electrical manipulation of metal nanowires

Abstract

The rotation induced by AC electric fields on metal nanowires has been studied theoretically and experimentally. In the experiments, the nanowires rotate close to the bottom of the device. The present work studies the effects of the wall on the electrorotation and electro–orientation of a metal nanowire numerically. The induced electrical rotation of a metal nanowire in solution is originated by both the electrical torque on the induced dipole and the induced charge EOF around the particle. The theoretical analysis presented here only considers the effects of the wall on the nanowire rotation originated by the torque on the induced dipole. Two methods are employed in the analysis in order to obtain the electrical and viscous torques acting on the nanowire: (i) the 3D electrical and hydrodynamic equations are simulated using the finite element method and (ii) hydrodynamic and electrical slender–body approximations are used to obtain, respectively, line distributions of Stokeslets and charge that take into account the proximity of a plane wall. The numerical results obtained from the two methods are totally in agreement. The main wall effects are that the electrical torque is reduced, the viscous torque is increased, and an electric repulsive force from the wall appears.