Manipulation and Separation of Particles of Metal Oxides by Dielectrophoresis

With the development of nanotecbnology, the separation and manipulation of micro-nano-panicles have become a research focus in the field of nano-materials, nielectrophoresis（DEP） is a non-contact technology for the separation and manipulation of micro-nano-particles. Here is reported the design and fabrication of a DEP based microchip with microelectrode arrays for capturing micro-particles of inorganic oxides in petroleum. The DEP behavior of micro-particles of inorganic oxides in oil media was explored via this microchip. The microchip shows relatively a good DEP response to inorganic oxides in oil media. Furthermore, much more factors were explored such as fiequency（Hz）, and particle size（μm）, as well as metal valence. As a conclusion, the best frequency is 50 Hz. It is expected to capture panicles with different sizes or separate different oxide panicles by regulating DEP conditions. Thus, a new method could be established for the separation and purification panicles of different oxides, as well as the separation and manipulation of an oxide with different particle sizes.