School of Mechanical Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215009, China.
Hengtong New Energy Electrical Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215234, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Jul 5;15(26):31755-31764. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c01306. Epub 2023 Jun 22.
This paper demonstrates a simple, flexible, and controllable technique to fabricate complex non-rectangular microchannels through the mold (e.g., balls) embossing-based soft lithography method. The good ductility of aluminum foil ensures the complete replication of the ball morphology, resulting in creation of the microchannels with a perfect circular cross section. By investigating the fabrication parameters such as the gap size and ball diameter, we can precisely control the width and height of the circular microchannel. More importantly, the method can be extended to create more complex channels with a series of cross-sectional shapes or combined channels through replacing the balls to the molds with various cross sections. Finally, the complex non-rectangular channels were designed and utilized to construct microfluidic valves and improve the mixing results of two liquids.
本文展示了一种简单、灵活且可控的技术，通过模具（如球）压印软光刻法制造复杂的非矩形微通道。铝箔的良好延展性确保了球形态的完全复制，从而形成具有完美圆形横截面的微通道。通过研究制造参数，例如间隙尺寸和球直径，我们可以精确控制圆形微通道的宽度和高度。更重要的是，该方法可以通过用具有各种横截面的模具替换球来扩展为制造具有一系列横截面形状或组合通道的更复杂的通道。最后，设计了复杂的非矩形通道，并利用其构造微流控阀并改善两种液体的混合效果。
