Wettability Manipulation by Interface-Localized Liquid Dielectrophoresis: Fundamentals and Applications

Jitesh Barman; Wan Shao; Biao Tang; Dong Yuan; Jan Groenewold; Guofu Zhou

doi:10.3390/mi10050329

Micromachines (May 2019)

Wettability Manipulation by Interface-Localized Liquid Dielectrophoresis: Fundamentals and Applications

Jitesh Barman,
Wan Shao,
Biao Tang,
Dong Yuan,
Jan Groenewold,
Guofu Zhou

Affiliations

Jitesh Barman: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Wan Shao: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Biao Tang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Dong Yuan: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jan Groenewold: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Guofu Zhou: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10050329
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10, no. 5
p. 329

Abstract

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Electric field-based smart wetting manipulation is one of the extensively used techniques in modern surface science and engineering, especially in microfluidics and optofluidics applications. Liquid dielectrophoresis (LDEP) is a technique involving the manipulation of dielectric liquid motion via the polarization effect using a non-homogeneous electric field. The LDEP technique was mainly dedicated to the actuation of dielectric and aqueous liquids in microfluidics systems. Recently, a new concept called dielectrowetting was demonstrated by which the wettability of a dielectric liquid droplet can be reversibly manipulated via a highly localized LDEP force at the three-phase contact line of the droplet. Although dielectrowetting is principally very different from electrowetting on dielectrics (EWOD), it has the capability to spread a dielectric droplet into a thin liquid film with the application of sufficiently high voltage, overcoming the contact-angle saturation encountered in EWOD. The strength of dielectrowetting depends on the ratio of the penetration depth of the electric field inside the dielectric liquid and the difference between the dielectric constants of the liquid and its ambient medium. Since the introduction of the dielectrowetting technique, significant progress in the field encompassing various real-life applications was demonstrated in recent decades. In this paper, we review and discuss the governing forces and basic principles of LDEP, the mechanism of interface localization of LDEP for dielectrowetting, related phenomenon, and their recent applications, with an outlook on the future research.

Published in Micromachines

ISSN: 2072-666X (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Mechanical engineering and machinery
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/micromachines

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