Self-assembly of self-propelled magnetic grains

Abstract

In this work, we study bidisperse mixtures of self-propelled magnetic particles of di erent shapes via discrete element method simulations. We show how these particles self-assemble into clusters and how these clusters depend on the ratio of the mixture, the magnetic interaction, and the shape of the grains. It is found that the mix ratio of the system controls the cluster size. Besides, the intensity of the magnetic dipoles and the shape of the grains in the mixture rule the average number of neighbors in contact and the shape of the clusters. By varying the intensity of the interactions, globular, linear and branched clusters were obtained.