Self-propelled droplet transport on shaped-liquid surfaces

Launay, Gaby, Sadullah, Muhammad Subkhi, McHale, Glen, Ledesma Aguilar, Rodrigo, Kusumaatmaja, Halim and Wells, Gary (2020) Self-propelled droplet transport on shaped-liquid surfaces. Scientific Reports, 10 (1). p. 14987. ISSN 2045-2322

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70988-x

Abstract

The transport of small amounts of liquids on solid surfaces is fundamental for microfluidics applications. Technologies allowing control of droplets of liquid on flat surfaces generally involve the generation of a wettability contrast. This approach is however limited by the resistance to motion caused by the direct contact between the droplet and the solid. We show here that this resistance can be drastically reduced by preventing direct contact with the help of dual-length scale micro-structures and the concept of “liquid-surfaces”. These new surfaces allow the gentle transport of droplets along defined paths and with fine control of their speed. Moreover, their high adhesion permits the capture of impacting droplets, opening new possibilities in applications such as fog harvesting and heat transfer.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Funding information: This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant No. EP/P026613/1).
Subjects: H800 Chemical, Process and Energy Engineering
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Elena Carlaw
Date Deposited: 13 Aug 2021 14:33
Last Modified: 13 Aug 2021 14:45
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/46916

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