CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2024
·
IF 13.3
Konghua Yang,Shiliang Chen,Yibin Liu,Yunhong Liang,Zhihui Zhang,Chunbao Liu
Achieving precise and rapid droplets manipulation in versatile directions transport remains a considerable challenge, however adhesion switchable transitions deemed to be rather serviceable. Here, a double-sided microplate array (DMPA) with bio-inspired Janus surfaces, is proposed to fulfill adjustable adhesion through surface wettability switching and microplate dynamic deformation, thereby executing the droplet multi-dimensional manipulation in response to dynamic magnetic field. The triple-coupled bio-inspired Janus surfaces are newly designed with a convex hull and striped structure respectively, inspired by the respiratory ciliary motion and surface properties of lotus and rice leaves. Leveraging variation in superhydrophobicity and low adhesion of convex hull side on Janus surface, diverse droplet directional transports are achieved in plane, such as high-speed horizontal transport (120 mm/s and 500 µL), anti-gravitational climbing (inclined by 15°), and selective droplet orientation. The adhesion switchable transition of surface striped structure on other side is predominated by solid–liquid contact lines evolution resulting from microplate bending deformation, realizing droplet capture/release for long-distance multi-dimensional transport. Concurrently, a magnetic-responsive droplet switch is developed based on multi-directional droplet manipulation, demonstrating enormous potential for practical application.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物医学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2021
·
IF 13.273
Xing Han,Xin Tang,Rifei Chen,Wei Li,Pingan Zhu,Liqiu Wang
We present a citrus-peel-like micro-cavity structure for the design of durable Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces (SLIPSs). Owing to the re-entrant and enclosed nature of micro-cavity, lubricant oils can be stabilized by mitigating mass loss resulting from liquid displacement and shear drainage, respectively. Citrus-peel-like micro-cavity SLIPS displays two orders of magnitude enhancement in durability in the droplet-sliding test when compared with micro-pillar SLIPS and smooth lubricant surface. We demonstrated precise droplet manipulation without liquid loss and cross-contamination by harnessing the Marangoni effect with photo-thermal control. Cavity-smooth SLIPS with large adhesion contrast was patterned to initiate multiple droplet coalescences for on-demand neutralization reaction. The citrus-peel-like micro-cavity SLIPS would be beneficial to various applications, such as multi-step chemical reactions and bio-detections that require loss-free, contamination-free, and programmable droplet manipulation.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
表面工程
·
化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
·
2020
·
IF 6.182
Hanpeng Gao,Yan Liu,Guoyong Wang,Shuyi Li,Zhiwu Han,Luquan Ren
Smart surfaces that can manipulate droplets or fluids have attracted intense attention because of their essential application prospects. However, it is still a challenge to obtain multifunctional integrated metal platforms that can simultaneously manipulate water/oil droplets and water/oil fluids. Here, inspired by the structure and wettability of natural reed leaves and lotus leaves, dual biomimetic platforms with switchable and anisotropic/isotropic wettability were prepared on copper by laser processing, chemical etching, and mixed thiols modification. The wettability of the integrated platforms can respond to the change of external pH value and reversibly switch between superhydrophobicity and underwater superoleophobicity. The areas of “reed leaf” structure and “lotus leaf” structure on the biomimetic platform have anisotropic and isotropic wettability, respectively. Significantly, by rationally designing the distribution of bionic structures, the dual biomimetic platforms can simultaneously manipulate water/oil droplets and water/oil fluids. This work not only provides advanced integrated biomimetic platforms and interesting design strategies, but also has important reference value in the development of new metal microfluidic devices.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Materials Horizons
·
2021
·Vol. 8
·期 11
·3063-3071
·
IF 13.266
Hongtai Ren,Hu Jin,Jian Shu,Jie Xie,Erlong Wang,Du-An Ge,Shi-Yang Tang,Xiangpeng Li,Weihua Li,Shiwu Zhang
The controlled actuation of liquid metal (LM) droplets has recently shown great potential in developing smart actuating systems for applications in robotics. However, there is a lack of a simple approach for the precise manipulation of multiple LM droplets in a 2D plane, which hinders the development of complex control over droplets for realizing useful robotic applications. To overcome this challenge, here, a versatile and powerful light-induced manipulation of LM droplets is presented. The key principle is to selectively activate phototransistors in an electrolyte using infrared laser beams to electrically control LM droplets via Marangoni forces. This approach shows the ability of inducing concurrent motion, splitting, and merging of multiple LM droplets simply using light without complex and bulky systems. Parameters affecting the manipulation of LM droplets are thoroughly investigated. Moreover, a vehicle carrier driven by wheels composed of multiple LM droplets for making a light-controlled relay is demonstrated. We believe such a light-induced control method for manipulating LM droplets has the potential for advancing the development of future field-programmable robotics and droplet-based soft collaborative robots.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
机器人学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Soft Matter
·
2024
·Vol. 20
·期 12
·2812-2822
·
IF 2.9
Long Jiao,Dingqiang Tan,Yanjun Hu,Yijing Yang,Qianqian Guo,Nan Zhou,Huaping Wu,Chen Chen,Xingang Zhao,Guohua Hu
The droplet lossless directional motion control on slippery surfaces holds immense promise for applications in microfluidic chips, hazardous substance detection, chemical dispensing, etc. However, a significant challenge in this domain lies in efficiently developing soft, slippery surfaces with large-range anisotropic wettability and compatibility for curved scenarios. This study addressed this challenge through a quick 3D printing-assisted method to produce soft, ridged-slippery surfaces (SRSSs) as the droplet manipulation platform. The SRSSs demonstrated substantial anisotropic rolling resistances, measuring 116.9 μN in the perpendicular direction and 7.7 μN in the parallel direction, exhibiting a ratio of 15.2. Combining several extents of anisotropic wettability on a soft substrate could realize diverse reagent manipulation functions. Furthermore, these SRSSs showcased high compatibility with various droplet constituents, impressive liquid impact resistance, self-repair capability, and mechanical durability and thermal durability, ensuring exceptional applicability. As proofs of concept, the SRSSs were successfully applied in droplet control and classification for heavy metal ion detection, mechanical arm-based droplet grab and release, and cross-species transport, showcasing their remarkable versatility, compatibility, and practicality in advanced droplet microfluidic chips and water harvesting applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
微流控技术
·
表面工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
LANGMUIR
·
2025
·
IF 3.9
Anhui Yu,Zhiguang Guo
Droplet manipulation on functional surfaces is an urgent problem to be solved. Fast and precise droplet manipulation plays an important role in many applications, such as microreactors and microfluidics. Although numerous techniques have been developed to manipulate droplets by injecting external stimuli, it remains a challenge to achieve high-precision, high-sensitivity, and fast droplet manipulation on smart, slippery response surfaces. Here, we report an intelligent slippery photopyroelectric response near-infrared-induced MXene-barium titanate/polyimide (SFMBPI) membrane. By using local near-infrared radiation (NIR), we can precisely control the droplet transport on the SFMBPI membrane, and SFMBPI uses electrospinning technology to better lock the dimethylsilicone oil, reducing the loss during the control process. Moreover, due to the presence of the pyroelectric layer, double external stimuli can be achieved. The thermal stimulation of the photothermal layer and the charge action of the pyroelectric layer make the manipulation of droplets on the SFMBPI surface more efficient and faster. Moreover, the experiment of negative gravity transport at an inclination angle of 6° demonstrates that the existence of the pyroelectric layer results in a greater driving force on the droplets, which can be more widely used. In addition, by inducing the direction of the NIR, programmable droplet transport and droplet merging can be achieved. Also, the SFMBPI membrane can be used for underwater bubble manipulation. This precise manipulation of droplets on the surface of SFMBPI membranes can be widely used in other fields, such as microfluidics.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
微流控技术
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表面科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Advanced Science
·
2022
·Vol. 9
·期 21
·2201341
·
IF 17.521
Yijing Yang,Rong Chen,Xun Zhu,Dingding Ye,Yang Yang,Wei Li,Dongliang Li,Haonan Li,Qiang Liao
Flexibly and precisely manipulating 3D droplet transportation is a fundamental challenge for broad implications in diagnostics, drug delivery, bioengineering, etc. Herein, a light method is developed for manipulating a droplet to make it behave like a submarine. This light method enables flexible 3D transportation, stable suspension, and floating of a droplet, which can be freely altered. It is demonstrated that the localized photothermal effect induced thermocapillary flow in the water droplet/oil phase is responsible for energizing and manipulating the droplet. With such remarkable motility, the light-fueled submarine-like droplet successfully realizes various functions such as the acid-base detection, particle capture and transportation, and target crystal collection, dissolution and transportation. It is demonstrated that the light-fueled submarine-like droplet shows promising perspective for long-sought precise droplet manipulation in various applications.
研究领域:
生物工程
·
医学诊断
·
药物递送
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Small
·
2024
·
IF 13
Jiajun Yang,Guang Liu,Kaiteng Zhang,Ping Li,Haipeng Yan,Yu Yan,Yingdong Zheng,Zehui Zhao,Liwen Zhang,Xiaolin Liu,Guang Yang,Huawei Chen
Precisely controlling the directional motion trajectories of droplets on anisotropic 3D functional surfaces has great application potential in self-cleaning, drug delivery, and droplet power generation, but it also faces huge challenges. Herein, inspired by the microcone structure in the heart of sunflowers, a nanoneedle-modified microcone array surface (NMAS) is reported. The surface is created using a combination of nanosecond laser direct engraving and electroforming and is subsequently fluorinated. Through programmable control of the laser spot, the geometric parameters and inclination angle of the microcone can be quickly and finely adjusted, thereby achieving precise control of the droplet bouncing trajectory. The results show that droplets can achieve programmable multiple bouncing behaviors on patterned functional surfaces, including gravity-defying hopping and directional water transport. It is worth noting that this functional surface has delayed freezing and anti-freezing effects. Furthermore, this functional surface has a wide range of potential applications, including surface self-cleaning, droplet capture, and droplet-based chemical microreactions, especially in the field of anti-icing operations. This opens up a new way for the directional transport of droplets on biomimetic functional surfaces.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
仿生学
·
表面工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Advanced Science
·
2024
·
IF 14.3
Jiaqi Miao,Alan C. H. Tsang
Manipulating small-volume liquids is crucial in natural processes and industrial applications. However, most liquid manipulation technologies involve complex energy inputs or non-adjustable wetting gradient surfaces. Here, a simple and adjustable 3D liquid manipulation paradigm is reported to control liquid behaviors by coupling liquid–air–solid interfacial energy with programmable magnetic fields. This paradigm centers around a hierarchical rectifier with magnetized microratchets, using Laplace pressure asymmetry to enable multimodal directional steering of various surface tension liquids (23–72 mN m −1 ). The scale-dependent effect in microratchet design shows its superiority in handling small-volume liquids across three orders of magnitude (10 0 –10 3 µL). Under programmed magnetic fields, the rectifier can reconfigure its morphology to harness interfacial energy to exhibit richer liquid behaviors without dynamic real-time control. Reconfigured rectifiers show improved rectification performance in the inertia-dominant fluid regime, i.e., a remarkable 2000-fold increase in the critical Weber number for pure ethanol. Moreover, the rectifier's switchable reconfigurations offer flexible control over liquid transport directions and spatiotemporally controllable 3D liquid manipulation reminiscent of inchworm motions. This scalable liquid manipulation paradigm promotes versatile engineering and biochemistry applications, e.g., portable liquid purity testing (screening resolution <1 mN m −1 ), logical open-channel microfluidics, and automated chemical reaction platforms.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物工程
·
化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Research
·
2023
·
IF 11
Zhuhao Wu,Lingyu Sun,Hanxu Chen,Yuanjin Zhao
The controllable manipulation and transfer of droplets are fundamental in a wide range of chemical reactions and even life processes. Herein, we present a novel, universal, and straightforward acoustic approach to fabricating biomimetic surfaces for on-demand droplet manipulations like many natural creatures. Based on the capillary waves induced by surface acoustic waves, various polymer films could be deformed into pre-designed structures, such as parallel grooves and grid-like patterns. These structured and functionalized surfaces exhibit impressive ability in droplet transportation and water collection, respectively. Besides these static surfaces, the tunability of acoustics could also endow polymer surfaces with dynamic controllability for droplet manipulations, including programming wettability, mitigating droplet evaporation, and accelerating chemical reactions. Our approach is capable of achieving universal surface manufacturing and droplet manipulation simultaneously, which simplifies the fabrication process and eliminates the need for additional chemical modifications. Thus, we believe that our acoustic-derived surfaces and technologies could provide a unique perspective for various applications, including microreactor integration, biochemical reaction control, tissue engineering, and so on.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物工程
·
化学工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE
·
2019
·Vol. 54
·期 10
·7469-7482
·
IF 3.442
Wang Yiqi,Shi Haixiao,Li Xiaoguang
Superhydrophobic aluminum (Al) surfaces are desired in many applications and have been widely studied, but some fundamental issues in their fabrication are not yet fully understood. In this study, commonly used HCl solution and organic acid/sulfur reagents were employed for clarifying the phenomena in etching and composition modification. An unstable layer was revealed after HCl etching, which was removable with water flushing, and this layer, consisting of scattered AlCl 3 /Al 2 O 3 particles surrounded by Al 2 O 3 plates with cracks, caused changes in surface appearance from bright to dark. A complete change in surface color corresponded to sufficient etching, and hence, this visible phenomenon could be used to confirm the shortest etching time for achieving desirable superhydrophobicity. Composition modification with dodecanethiol and myristic acid also modified the microstructure through a slight etching mechanism and a synergistic effect was found with the use of their mixture, which led to the finest grains and most abundant carbon chains on the final surfaces. Consequently, the best superhydrophobicity was revealed in static and dynamic experiments with droplets. Finally, using the advantage of flexibility, a superhydrophobic Al sheet was demonstrated to be suitable for subjecting droplets to controlled rolling and coalescence, which could be meaningful for many droplet-related studies.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
表面工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
·
2022
·
IF 9.965
Zhi-Zhen Jiao,Hao Zhou,Xing-Chen Han,Dong-Dong Han,Yong-Lai Zhang
Photothermal responsive slippery surfaces with switchable superwettability are promising in the fields of biomedicine, self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, and lab-on-a-chip systems. However, the development of a light switchable slippery surface that combines high-performance photothermal materials with hierarchical microstructures of special orientation remains challenging, which limits the applications in anisotropic droplet manipulation . Herein, we demonstrate a photothermal responsive slippery surface based on laser-structured graphene and polyvinylidene difluoride composites (L-G@PVDF) for controllable droplet manipulation. The L-G@PVDF film exhibits high light absorption (∼95.4%) in the visible and NIR region. After lubricating with paraffin, the resultant surface shows excellent self-healing ability and light-responsive wettability change due to the photothermal effect of L-G@PVDF and the hot melting effect of paraffin. Additionally, by introducing anisotropic grooved structures, the paraffin-infused L-G@PVDF surface displays anisotropic wettability that further affects droplet manipulation under light irradiation . Also, the photothermal responsive slippery property endows the paraffin-infused L-G@PVDF surface with excellent anti-frosting and de-icing capability. Moreover, the smart paraffin-infused L-G@PVDF surface can be combined with a microfluidics chip for light-driven automatic sampling. This study offers insight into the rational design of photothermal responsive slippery surfaces for controllable droplet manipulation.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物医学工程
·
表面工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子