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Infrared laser-induced photothermal phase change for liquid actuation in microchannels

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Abstract

Localized fluid manipulation in microfluidic device is a key operation to various on-chip analytical/synthetic applications. In this work, we demonstrated the localized fluid actuation in microchannels by the infrared laser-induced evaporation–condensation-coalescence photothermal phase change process. Visualized experiments were carried out to investigate the dynamic phase change process and accompanying interfacial behaviors. Effects of laser power, spot speed, channel structure and actuation distance were investigated. Results indicate the actuation speed can be tuned by the output laser power, and the flow direction in microchannels can be selected by the control of laser spot trajectory. Long distance actuation performance suggests that the flow speed decreases due to the increase of fluid volume and flow resistance. The photothermally induced phase change process provides the means of simple and efficient localized fluid manipulation with remarkable dynamic response and the ability of agile maneuver in microfluidic channels, which could be further applied in different application scenarios.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51906023) and the National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar (No. 51925601).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400030, China

    Xuefeng He, Rong Chen, Xun Zhu & Qiang Liao

  2. Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400030, China

    Xuefeng He, Rong Chen, Xun Zhu & Qiang Liao

  3. School of Ocean, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, China

    Shuzhe Li

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  1. Xuefeng He
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  2. Rong Chen
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  3. Xun Zhu
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  4. Qiang Liao
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  5. Shuzhe Li
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Correspondence to Xuefeng He or Rong Chen.

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He, X., Chen, R., Zhu, X. et al. Infrared laser-induced photothermal phase change for liquid actuation in microchannels. Microfluid Nanofluid 25, 58 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-021-02460-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-021-02460-9

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