Anisotropic Liquid Dielectrophoresis and Interfacial Forces

各向异性液体介电泳和界面力

• 批准号: EP/J009865/1
• 负责人: Carl Brown
• 金额: $ 41.84万
• 依托单位: Nottingham Trent University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2012 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FJ009865%2F1
• 关键词: Anisotropic; Liquid; Dielectrophoresis; Interfacial; Forces

There is a growing technology-driven interest in using external influences to move or shape small quantities of liquids, a process that is referred to as "microfluidic actuation". Using electrical, rather than mechanical, forces to achieve this actuation is convenient because this involves relatively simple device architectures that contain no moving parts. Existing non-mechanical microfluidic actuation techniques that are driven by the application of a voltage include electrowetting, which only works with conducting liquids, and dielectrophoresis, which works with both conducting and non-conducting liquids. We have previously shown how dielectrophoresis forces in non-conducting isotropic liquids can be used to create not only forced wetting and liquid spreading, but also liquid film wrinkling in which an engineered electric field distribution imprints a replica of itself as a distortion pattern at the liquid-air interface of the film. In this proposal the possibility that liquid dielectrophoresis can lead to added functionality and greater control within a pure anisotropic liquid, i.e. a nematic liquid crystal rather than a simple isotropic liquid, will be investigated. Liquid dielectrophoresis in pure anisotropic liquids has not been studied before, either experimentally or theoretically. Our proposed integrated collaborative experimental and theoretical research approach aims to understand and exploit the forces that can be created within, and at the surface of, free and confined anisotropic liquids when they are subject to electric fields. The proposed research will investigate an exciting new possibility of using anisotropic liquids along with particular confinement geometries which allow voltage controlled actuated microfluidic pumping to be produced even with simplified electrode architectures. Our industrial supporters include Merck Chemicals Ltd, the world-leading researcher, developer and manufacturer of liquid crystals and reactive mesogens, together with Hewlett-Packard and ADT, who are developing the next generation of information displays based on liquid crystal and microfluidic effects.

在使用外部影响来移动或塑造少量液体方面，存在日益增长的技术驱动的兴趣，该过程被称为“微流体致动”。使用电力而不是机械力来实现该致动是方便的，因为这涉及不包含移动部件的相对简单的装置架构。通过施加电压来驱动的现有非机械微流体致动技术包括仅与导电液体一起工作的电润湿和与导电液体和非导电液体一起工作的介电泳。我们先前已经展示了如何在非导电各向同性液体中的介电泳力可以被用来创建不仅强制润湿和液体扩散，而且液体膜扭曲，其中设计的电场分布在膜的液体-空气界面处印刻自身的复制品作为失真图案。在该提议中，将研究液体介电电泳可以导致纯各向异性液体（即双折射液晶而不是简单的各向同性液体）内的附加功能和更大的控制的可能性。纯各向异性液体中的液体介电电泳以前没有研究过，无论是实验上还是理论上。我们提出的综合协作实验和理论研究方法旨在了解和利用可以在自由和受限的各向异性液体的表面和内部产生的力，当它们受到电场的影响时。所提出的研究将调查一个令人兴奋的新的可能性，使用各向异性液体沿着与特定的限制几何形状，允许电压控制驱动的微流体泵，即使简化的电极结构来生产。我们的工业支持者包括世界领先的液晶和反应性介晶的研究、开发和制造商默克化学有限公司，以及正在开发基于液晶和微流体效应的下一代信息显示器的惠普和ADT。

项目成果

Progress in Industrial Mathematics at ECMI 2014

ECMI 2014 工业数学进展

• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-23413-7_149
• 发表时间: 2016
• 作者: Corson L

Flow-induced delayed Freedericksz transition.

流动引起的 Freedericksz 转变延迟。

• DOI: 10.1103/physreve.93.030701
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: Physical review. E
• 作者: Mottram NJ

Frequency-controlled dielectrophoresis-driven wetting of nematic liquid crystals

• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6463/ac6466
• 发表时间: 2022-04
• 期刊: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
• 作者: C. Brown;A. Bhadwal;A. Edwards;I. Sage;A. Saxena;N. Mottram

Static and Dynamic Optical Analysis of Micro Wrinkle Formation on a Liquid Surface.

• DOI: 10.3390/mi12121583
• 发表时间: 2021-12-19
• 期刊: Micromachines
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Saxena A;Tsakonas C;Chappell D;Cheung CS;Edwards AMJ;Liang H;Sage IC;Brown CV
• 通讯作者: Brown CV

Electric field induced deformation of hemispherical sessile droplets of ionic liquid

电场诱导离子液体半球形固着液滴变形

• DOI: 10.1016/j.elstat.2014.08.004
• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: Journal of Electrostatics
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Tsakonas C