Veering the motion of a magnetic chemical locomotive in a liquid

The motion of micron-sized catalytic polymer beads coated with thin film or nanoparticle form of Ni in aqueous H2O2 is reported herein. In the absence of any magnetic field, the beads moved vertically upward in the medium, owing to sufficient bubbles deposited on them following catalytic decomposition of H2O2 by Ni. However, in the presence of an external magnetic field (perpendicular to the direction of motion), angular deviation in the motion is observed, with the deviations increasing with the strength of the field. The results are explained based on a model involving interaction of the beads with the external magnetic field. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.