Chapter 16: Applications of Active Colloids

Alongside the rapid progress made in the development and understanding of new active colloidal systems over the last two decades, several applications have also been developed for these particles in a range of different areas. The unique properties of active colloids – self-propulsion, ability to respond to environmental cues, collective behaviour, and the ease of functionalizing particle surfaces – have led to applications in self-assembly, materials design, sensing, therapeutics, and environmental remediation. In this chapter we will build on the previous discussions on propulsion, control, and interactions of active colloidal systems and offer insight into what general strategies and approaches are best suited for different application areas. While we do not attempt to provide a comprehensive review of the thousands of applications that have been developed for active colloidal systems, we will provide illustrative examples that aim to highlight the state of the art in application development with active colloids.