Hou Xu, Li Jianyu, Tesler Alexander B, Yao Yuxing, Wang Miao, Min Lingli, Sheng Zhizhi, Aizenberg Joanna
Research Institute for Soft Matter and Biomimetics, College of Physical Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surface, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 21;9(1):733. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03194-z.
Microscale flows of fluids are mainly guided either by solid matrices or by liquid-liquid interfaces. However, the solid matrices are plagued with persistent fouling problems, while liquid-liquid interfaces are limited to low-pressure applications. Here we report a dynamic liquid/solid/gas material containing both air and liquid pockets, which are formed by partially infiltrating a porous matrix with a functional liquid. Using detailed theoretical and experimental data, we show that the distribution of the air- and liquid-filled pores is responsive to pressure and enables the formation and instantaneous recovery of stable liquid-liquid interfaces that sustain a wide range of pressures and prevent channel contamination. This adaptive design is demonstrated for polymeric materials and extended to metal-based systems that can achieve unmatched mechanical and thermal stability. Our platform with its unique adaptive pressure and antifouling capabilities may offer potential solutions to flow control in microfluidics, medical devices, microscale synthesis, and biological assays.
微尺度流体流动主要由固体基质或液-液界面引导。然而，固体基质存在持续的污染问题，而液-液界面仅限于低压应用。在此，我们报告一种包含气穴和液穴的动态液/固/气材料，这些气穴和液穴是通过用功能液体部分渗透多孔基质形成的。利用详细的理论和实验数据，我们表明充气孔和充液孔的分布对压力有响应，并能形成和瞬时恢复稳定的液-液界面，该界面能承受大范围的压力并防止通道污染。这种自适应设计在聚合物材料中得到了验证，并扩展到能实现无与伦比的机械和热稳定性的金属基系统。我们的平台具有独特的自适应压力和防污能力，可能为微流体、医疗设备、微尺度合成和生物检测中的流动控制提供潜在解决方案。
