Synergistic chemomechanical dynamics of feedback-controlled microreactors

Abstract: The experimental control of synergistic chemomechanical dynamics of catalytically active microgels (microreactors) is a key prerequisite for the design of adaptive and biomimetic materials. Here, we report a minimalistic model of feedback-controlled microreactors based on the coupling between the hysteretic polymer volume phase transition and a volume-controlled permeability for the internal chemical conversion. We categorize regimes of mono- and bistability, excitability, damped oscillations, as well as sustained oscillatory states with tunable amplitude, as indicated by experiments and representable by the FitzHugh-Nagumo dynamics for neurons. We summarize the features of such a colloidal neuron in bifurcation diagrams with respect to microgel design parameters, such as permeability and relaxation times, as a guide for experimental synthesis.