Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces

Abstract The directional and long-range droplet transportation is of great importance in microfluidic systems. However, it usually requires external energy input. Here we designed a wettability gradient surface that can drive droplet motion by structural topography. The surface has a wettability gra...

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Autores principales:	Chaoran Liu, Jing Sun, Jing Li, Chenghao Xiang, Lufeng Che, Zuankai Wang, Xiaofeng Zhou
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/cc5bddf18be04d99a46a1f4f198af6e6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:cc5bddf18be04d99a46a1f4f198af6e62021-12-02T12:32:51ZLong-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces10.1038/s41598-017-07867-52045-2322https://doaj.org/article/cc5bddf18be04d99a46a1f4f198af6e62017-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07867-5https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The directional and long-range droplet transportation is of great importance in microfluidic systems. However, it usually requires external energy input. Here we designed a wettability gradient surface that can drive droplet motion by structural topography. The surface has a wettability gradient range of over 150° from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic, which was achieved by etching silicon nanopillars and adjusting the area of hydrophilic silicon dioxide plane. We conducted force analysis to further reveal the mechanism for droplet self-propulsion, and found that the nanostructures are critical to providing a large driving force and small resistance force. Theoretical calculation has been used to analyze the maximal self-propulsion displacement on different gradient surfaces with different volumes of droplets. On this basis, we designed several surfaces with arbitrary paths, which achieved directional and long-range transportation of droplet. These results clarify a driving mechanism for droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces, and open up new opportunities for long-range and directional droplet transportation in microfluidic system.Chaoran LiuJing SunJing LiChenghao XiangLufeng CheZuankai WangXiaofeng ZhouNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Chaoran Liu Jing Sun Jing Li Chenghao Xiang Lufeng Che Zuankai Wang Xiaofeng Zhou Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
description	Abstract The directional and long-range droplet transportation is of great importance in microfluidic systems. However, it usually requires external energy input. Here we designed a wettability gradient surface that can drive droplet motion by structural topography. The surface has a wettability gradient range of over 150° from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic, which was achieved by etching silicon nanopillars and adjusting the area of hydrophilic silicon dioxide plane. We conducted force analysis to further reveal the mechanism for droplet self-propulsion, and found that the nanostructures are critical to providing a large driving force and small resistance force. Theoretical calculation has been used to analyze the maximal self-propulsion displacement on different gradient surfaces with different volumes of droplets. On this basis, we designed several surfaces with arbitrary paths, which achieved directional and long-range transportation of droplet. These results clarify a driving mechanism for droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces, and open up new opportunities for long-range and directional droplet transportation in microfluidic system.
format	article
author	Chaoran Liu Jing Sun Jing Li Chenghao Xiang Lufeng Che Zuankai Wang Xiaofeng Zhou
author_facet	Chaoran Liu Jing Sun Jing Li Chenghao Xiang Lufeng Che Zuankai Wang Xiaofeng Zhou
author_sort	Chaoran Liu
title	Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
title_short	Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
title_full	Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
title_fullStr	Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
title_full_unstemmed	Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
title_sort	long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/cc5bddf18be04d99a46a1f4f198af6e6
work_keys_str_mv	AT chaoranliu longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces AT jingsun longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces AT jingli longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces AT chenghaoxiang longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces AT lufengche longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces AT zuankaiwang longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces AT xiaofengzhou longrangespontaneousdropletselfpropulsiononwettabilitygradientsurfaces
_version_	1718393946610073600

Long-range spontaneous droplet self-propulsion on wettability gradient surfaces

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