Norikane Yasuo, Ohnuma Mio, Kwaria Dennis, Kikkawa Yoshihiro, Ohzono Takuya, Mizokuro Toshiko, Abe Koji, Manabe Kengo, Saito Koichiro
Research Institute for Advanced Electronics and Photonics, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8565, Japan.
Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8571, Japan.
Mater Horiz. 2024 Mar 18;11(6):1495-1501. doi: 10.1039/d3mh01774e.
The control of droplet motion is a significant challenge, as there has been no simple method for effective manipulation. Utilizing light for the control of droplets offers a promising solution due to its non-contact nature and high degree of controllability. In this study, we present our findings on the translational motion of pre-photomelted droplets composed of azobenzene derivatives on a glass surface when exposed to UV and visible light sources from different directions. These droplets exhibited directional and continuous motion upon light irradiation and this motion was size-dependent. Only droplets with diameters less than 10 μm moved with a maximum velocity of 300 μm min. In addition, the direction of the movement was controllable by the direction of the light. The motion is driven by a change in contact angle, where UV or visible light switched the contact angle to approximately 50° or 35°, respectively. In addition, these droplets were also found to be capable carriers for fluorescent quantum dots. As such, droplets composed of photoresponsive molecules offer unique opportunities for designing novel light-driven open-surface microfluidic systems.
控制液滴运动是一项重大挑战，因为目前尚无简单有效的操控方法。利用光来控制液滴因其非接触性质和高度可控性而提供了一个有前景的解决方案。在本研究中，我们展示了关于由偶氮苯衍生物组成的预光熔液滴在玻璃表面上，当从不同方向暴露于紫外光源和可见光源时的平移运动的研究结果。这些液滴在光照下呈现出定向且连续的运动，并且这种运动与尺寸有关。只有直径小于10μm的液滴以最大300μm/min的速度移动。此外，运动方向可通过光的方向来控制。该运动由接触角的变化驱动，其中紫外光或可见光分别将接触角切换至约50°或35°。此外，还发现这些液滴也是荧光量子点的有效载体。因此，由光响应分子组成的液滴为设计新型光驱动开放表面微流体系统提供了独特的机会。
