Realization of Self-Rotating Droplets Based on Liquid Metal

Owing to their fascinating characteristics, liquid metals (LMs) have attracted increasing attention from the scientific community, and are a potential material for various applications. A novel phenomenon is reported in which an acid droplet spontaneously rotates on the surface of an LM. The experimental results show that this phenomenon originates from the collective motion of bubbles generated by the chemical reactions between the droplet and the LM. The angular velocity of the droplet rotation is on the order of 10(1) rad s(-1), which is much higher than that driven by other mechanisms. Under different conditions, the period of the droplet differs, and it increases with the pH and radius of the acid droplet. The theoretical results indicate the dominant factors and the characterized angular velocity, which agree well with the experimental data. This phenomenon demonstrate that the general particles can also induce special spatial-temporal patterns, and opens up a new field for the application of LMs.

Automated summary

Liquid metals have attracted attention as a potential material due to their fascinating characteristics, with a novel phenomenon of acid droplets rotating on their surface being attributed to the collective motion of bubbles generated by chemical reactions. The rotation speed is much higher than other mechanisms, and varies under different conditions, influenced by pH and droplet radius.