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Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading

Unidirectional liquid spreading without energy input is of significant interest for the broad applications in diverse fields such as water harvesting, drop transfer, oil–water separation and microfluidic devices. However, the controllability of liquid motion and the simplification of manufacturing p...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zhang, Yi, Gan, Yang, Zhang, Liwen, Zhang, Deyuan, Chen, Huawei
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7692703/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33143205
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi11110978
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author Zhang, Yi
Gan, Yang
Zhang, Liwen
Zhang, Deyuan
Chen, Huawei
author_facet Zhang, Yi
Gan, Yang
Zhang, Liwen
Zhang, Deyuan
Chen, Huawei
author_sort Zhang, Yi
collection PubMed
description Unidirectional liquid spreading without energy input is of significant interest for the broad applications in diverse fields such as water harvesting, drop transfer, oil–water separation and microfluidic devices. However, the controllability of liquid motion and the simplification of manufacturing process remain challenges. Inspired by the peristome of Nepenthes alata, a surface-tension-confined (STC) channel with biomimetic microcavities was fabricated facilely through UV exposure photolithography and partial plasma treatment. Perfect asymmetric liquid spreading was achieved by combination of microcavities and hydrophobic boundary, and the stability of pinning effect was demonstrated. The influences of structural features of microcavities on both liquid spreading and liquid pinning were investigated and the underlying mechanism was revealed. We also demonstrated the spontaneous unidirectional transport of liquid in 3D space and on tilting slope. In addition, through changing pits arrangement and wettability pattern, complex liquid motion paths and microreactors were realized. This work will open a new way for liquid manipulation and lab-on-chip applications.
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spelling pubmed-76927032020-11-28 Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading Zhang, Yi Gan, Yang Zhang, Liwen Zhang, Deyuan Chen, Huawei Micromachines (Basel) Article Unidirectional liquid spreading without energy input is of significant interest for the broad applications in diverse fields such as water harvesting, drop transfer, oil–water separation and microfluidic devices. However, the controllability of liquid motion and the simplification of manufacturing process remain challenges. Inspired by the peristome of Nepenthes alata, a surface-tension-confined (STC) channel with biomimetic microcavities was fabricated facilely through UV exposure photolithography and partial plasma treatment. Perfect asymmetric liquid spreading was achieved by combination of microcavities and hydrophobic boundary, and the stability of pinning effect was demonstrated. The influences of structural features of microcavities on both liquid spreading and liquid pinning were investigated and the underlying mechanism was revealed. We also demonstrated the spontaneous unidirectional transport of liquid in 3D space and on tilting slope. In addition, through changing pits arrangement and wettability pattern, complex liquid motion paths and microreactors were realized. This work will open a new way for liquid manipulation and lab-on-chip applications. MDPI 2020-10-30 /pmc/articles/PMC7692703/ /pubmed/33143205 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi11110978 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Zhang, Yi
Gan, Yang
Zhang, Liwen
Zhang, Deyuan
Chen, Huawei
Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading
title Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading
title_full Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading
title_fullStr Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading
title_full_unstemmed Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading
title_short Surface-Tension-Confined Channel with Biomimetic Microstructures for Unidirectional Liquid Spreading
title_sort surface-tension-confined channel with biomimetic microstructures for unidirectional liquid spreading
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7692703/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33143205
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi11110978
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