Transport in active systems crowded by obstacles

The reactive and diffusive dynamics of a single chemically powered Janus motor in a crowded medium of moving but passive obstacles is investigated using molecular simulation. It is found that the reaction rate of the catalytic motor reaction decreases in a crowded medium as the volume fraction of obstacles increases as a result of a reduction in the Smoluchowski diffusion-controlled reaction rate coefficient that contributes to the overall reaction rate. A continuum model is constructed and analyzed to interpret the dependence of the steady-state reaction rate observed in simulations on the volume fraction of obstacles in the system. The steady-state concentration fields of reactant and product are shown to be sensitive to the local structure of obstacles around the Janus motor. It is demonstrated that the active motor exhibits enhanced diffusive motion at long times with a diffusion constant that decreases as the volume fraction of crowding species increases. In addition, the dynamical properties of a passive tracer particle in a system containing many active Janus motors is studied to investigate how an active environment influences the transport of non-active species. The diffusivity of a passive tracer particle in an active medium is found to be enhanced in systems with forward-moving Janus motors due to the cooperative dynamics of these motors.