Mechanism of contact angle saturation and an energy-based model for electrowetting

Electrowetting,as a well-known approach to increasing droplet wettability on a solid surface by electrical bias,has broad applications.However,it is limited by contact angle saturation at large voltage.Although several debated hypotheses have been proposed to describe it,the physical origin of contact angle saturation still remains obscure.In this work,the physical factors responsible for the onset of contact angle saturation are explored,and the correlated theoretical models are established to characterize electrowetting behavior.Combination of the proper 3-phase system employed succeeds in dropping the saturating contact angle below 25？,and validates that the contact angle saturation is not a result of devicerelated imperfection.

Contact angle hysteresis in electrowetting on dielectric

Contact angle hysteresis(CAH) is one of the significant physical phenomena in electrowetting on dielectric(EWOD).In this work, a theoretical model is proposed to characterize electrowetting evolution on substrates with CAH, and the relationship among apparent contact angle, potential, and some other parameters is quantified. And this theory is also validated experimentally. The results indicate that our theory and equation based on energy balance succeed in describing the electrowetting response of potential with significant contact angle hysteresis. The CAH in EWOD, ranging from 0° to about 20° in electrowetting cycle, increases with the increase of voltage and climbs up to about 20° when voltage is increased to about 38 V, and then decreases to zero with the further increase of voltage.

Voltage controlled iontronic switches:a computational method to predict electrowetting in hydrophobically gated nanopores

Reliable and controllable switches are crucial in nanofluidics and iontronics.lon channels found in nature serve as a rich source of inspiration due to their intricate mechanisms modulated by stimuli like pressure,temperature,chemical species,and voltage.The artifi-cial replication of the properties of these channels is challenging due to their complex chemistry,limited stability range,and intricate moving parts,allosterically modulated.Nonetheless,we can harness some of the gating mechanisms of ion channels for nanofluidic and iontronic purposes.This theoretical and computational study explores the use of electrowetting in simple hydrophobic nanopores to control their conductance using an external applied voltage.We employ restrained molecular dynamics to calculate the free energy required for wetting a model nanopore under different voltages.Utilizing a simple theory,we generate free energy profles across a wide voltage range.We also computed transition rates between conductive and non-conductive states,showing their voltage depen-dence and how this behavior can impair memory to the system,resembling the memristor behavior voltage-gated channels in the brain.The proposed framework provides a promising avenue for designing and controlling hydrophobic nanopores via electrowet-ting,enabling potential applications in neuromorphic iontronics.

Bistable electrowetting device with non-planar designed controlling electrodes for display applications

Bistable electrowetting display(EWD)is a promising low-power electronic paper technology,where power is consumed only during the switching between two stable states;however,it is not required for state maintenance once switched.In this paper,a bistable electrowetting device with non-planar designed controlling electrodes is fabricated by a fully conventional photolithography process.The device has potential for video display applications with a controllable gray scale.The novel electrode design realizes a lower driving voltage and a higher contrast between two stable states than the EWDs with planar electrodes reported previously.

Numerical simulation of drop oscillation in AC electrowetting

In this paper,a "macroscopic-scale" numerical method for drop oscillation in AC electrowetting is presented.The method is based on a high-fidelity moving mesh interface tracking(MMIT) approach and a "microscopic model" for the moving contact line.The contact line model developed by Ren et al.[Phys Fluids,2010,22:102103] is used in the simulation.To determine the slip length in this model,we propose a calibration procedure using the experimental data of drop spreading in DC electrowetting.In the simulation,the frequency of input AC voltage varies in a certain range while the root-mean-square value remains fixed.The numerical simulation is validated against the experiment and it shows that the predicted resonance frequencies for different oscillation modes agree reasonably well with the experiment.The origins of discrepancy between simulation and experiment are analyzed in the paper.Further investigation is also conducted by including the contact angle hysteresis into the contact line model to account for the "stick-slip" behavior.A noticeable improvement on the prediction of resonance frequencies is achieved by using the hysteresis model.

Dynamic and reversible electrowetting with low voltage on the dimethicone infused carbon nanotube array in air

Unremitting efforts have been intensively making for pursuing the goal of the reversible transition of electrowetting owing to its vital importance to many practical applications,but which remains a major challenge for carbon nanotubes due to the irreversible electrochemical damage.Herein,we proposed a subtly method to prevent the CNT array from electrochemical damage by using liquid medium instead of air medium to form a liquid/liquid/solid triphase system.The dimethicone dynamically refills in CNT arrays after removing of voltage that makes the surface back to hydrophobic,which is an elegant way to not only decrease energy dissipation in electrowetting process but also obtain extra energy in reversible dewetting process.Repeated cycles of in situ experiments showed that more than four reversible electrowetting cycles could be achieved in air.It wo rth mention that the in situ reve rsible electro wetting voltage of the dimethicone infused CNT array has been lowered to 2 V from 7 V which is the electrowetting voltage for the pure CNT array.The surface of the dimethicone infused CNT array can maintain hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 145.6°after four cycles,compared with 148.1°of the initial state.Moreover,a novel perspective of theoretical simulations through the binding energy has been provided which proved that the charged CNTs preferred binding with water molecules thereby replacing the dimethicone molecules adsorbed on the CNTs,whereas reconnected with dimethicone after removing the charges.Our study provides distinct insight into dynamic reversible electrowetting on the nanostructured surface in air and supplies a way for precise control of wettability in surface chemistry,smart phase-change heat transfer enhancement,liquid lenses,microfluidics,and other chemical engineering applications.

Numerical Simulation for a Droplet Fission Process of Electrowetting on Dielectric Device

Electrowetting has been proposed as a technique for manipulating dropletssurrounded by air or oil. In this paper, we discuss the modeling and simulation of thedroplet fission process between two parallel plates inside an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) device. Since the gap between the plates is small, we use the two-phaseHele-Shaw flow as a model. While there are several high order methods around, suchas the immersed interface methods [1, 2], we decide to use two first-order methods forsimplicity. A ghost-fluid (GF) method is employed to solve the governing equationsand a local level set method is used to track the drop interface. For comparison purposes, the same set of two-phase Hele-Shaw equations are also solved directly usingthe immersed boundary (IB) method. Numerical results are consistent with experimental observations reported in the literature.

Moving contact line problem: Advances and perspectives

The solid-liquid interface, which is ubiquitous in nature and our daily life, plays fundamental roles in a variety of physical-chemical-biological- mechanical phenomena, for example in lubrication, crystal growth, and many biological reactions that govern the building of human body and the functioning of brain. A surge of interests in the moving contact line （MCL） problem, which is still going on today, can be traced back to 1970s primarily because of the exis- tence of the ＂Huh-Scriven paradox＂. This paper, mainly from a solid mechanics perspective, describes very briefly the multidisciplinary nature of the MCL problem, then summarizes some major advances in this exciting research area, and some future directions are presented.

Transient study of droplet oscillation characteristics driven by an electric field

Electrowetting technology,a microfluidic technology,has attracted more and more attention in recent years and has broad prospects in terms of microdroplet drive.In this paper,the dynamic contact angle theory is used to develop a numerical model to predict the droplet dynamic contact behavior and internal flow field under electrowetting.In particular,based on the established computational model of droplet force balance,the dynamic process of a droplet under electrowetting is analyzed,including the perspective of pressure variation and force balance inside the droplet.The results show that when the alternating current frequency increases from 50 Hz to 500 Hz,the amplitude of the oscillation waveform after droplet stabilization is 0.036 mm,0.016 mm,0.013 mm and 0.002 mm,while the relevant droplet oscillation period T is 11 ms,4 ms,2 ms and 1 ms,respectively.It is also found that the initial phase angle does not affect the droplet oscillation amplitude.In addition,the pressure on the droplet surface under alternating current electrowetting increases rapidly to the maximum value with resonant waveform oscillation,and the droplet will present different resonance modes under voltage stimulation.The higher the resonance mode is,the smaller the droplet oscillation amplitude is and the streamline at the interface will present an eddy current,in which the number of vortices matches the resonance mode.A high resonance mode corresponds to a small droplet amplitude,while there are more vortices with a smaller size.

Synthesis and Application of Oil-Soluble Red Dyes Derived from p-n-Alkyl Aniline

In this study, the azo red dyes derived from p-n-alkyl aniline by the introduction of different alkyl groups having high solubility in dodecane were synthesized. Results indicated that the elementary properties of red oil inks were 1) non-polarity;2) low viscosity (<3.0 cps);3) specified surface tension (<30 mN/m);4) intensity of visible absorption covering 480 - 540 nm;5) hue close to standard red (CIE(x, y) = 0.67, 0.33). We can conclude that these azo red dyes are applicable for electrowetting displays.

Surface tension of liquid metal： role, mechanism and application

Surface tension plays a core role in dominating various surface and interface phenomena. For liquid metals with high melting temperature, a profound understanding of the behaviors of surface tension is crucial in industrial processes such as casting, welding, and solidification, etc. Recently, the room temperature liquid metal （RTLM） mainly composed of gallium-based alloys has caused widespread concerns due to its increasingly realized unique virtues. The surface properties of such materials are rather vital in nearly all applications involved from chip cooling, thermal energy harvesting, hydrogen generation, shape changeable soft machines, printed electronics to 3D fabrication, etc. owing to its pretty large surface tension of approximately 700 mN/m. In order to promote the research of surface tension of RTLM, this paper is dedicated to present an overview on the roles and mechanisms of surface tension of liquid metal and summarize the latest progresses on the understanding of the basic knowledge, theories, influencing factors and experimental measure- ment methods clarified so far. As a practical technique to regulate the surface tension of RTLM, the fimdamental principles and applications of electrowetting are also interpreted. Moreover, the unique phenomena of RTLM surface tension issues such as surface tension driven self- actuation, modified wettability on various substrates and the functions of oxides are discussed to give an insight into the acting mechanism of surface tension. Furthermore, future directions worthy of pursuing are pointed out.

Transporting droplets through surface anisotropy

This review article examines digital microfluidic systems that manipulate droplets through surface anisotropy.These systems are categorized as surface tension driven or contact line driven.Surface tension driven systems include electrowetting on dielectric,Marangoni flow on microheater arrays,and chemical gradient surfaces,whereas contact line driven systems include anisotropic ratchet conveyors,nanostructured Parylene ratchets,and tilted pillar arrays.This article describes the operating principles and outlines the fabrication procedures for each system.We also present new equations that unify several previous models of contact line driven systems.The strengths and weaknesses of each system are compared,with a focus on their ability to perform the generation,switching,fusion,and fission of droplets.Finally,we discuss current and potential future applications of these systems.

Re-engineering artificial muscle with microhydraulics

We introduce a new type of actuator,the microhydraulic stepping actuator(MSA),which borrows design and operational concepts from biological muscle and stepper motors.MSAs offer a unique combination of power,efficiency,and scalability not easily achievable on the microscale.The actuator works by integrating surface tension forces produced by electrowetting acting on scaled droplets along the length of a thin ribbon.Like muscle,MSAs have liquid and solid functional components and can displace a large fraction of their length.The 100μm pitch MSA presented here already has an output power density of over 200 W kg^(−1),rivaling the most powerful biological muscles,due to the scaling of surface tension forces,MSA’s power density grows quadratically as its dimensions are reduced.

Variable optofluidic slit aperture

The shape of liquid interfaces can be precisely controlled using electrowetting,an actuation mechanism which has been widely used for tunable optofluidic micro-optical components such as lenses or irises.We have expanded the considerable flexibility inherent in electrowetting actuation to realize a variable optofluidic slit,a tunable and reconfigurable two-dimensional aperture with no mechanically moving parts.This optofluidic slit is formed by precisely controlled movement of the liquid interfaces of two highly opaque ink droplets.The 1.5mmlong slit aperture,with controllably variable discrete widths down to 45 mm,may be scanned across a length of 1.5mmwith switching times between adjacent slit positions of less than 120 ms.In addition,for a fixed slit aperture position,the width may be tuned to a minimum of 3 mmwith high uniformity and linearity over the entire slit length.This compact,purely fluidic device offers an electrically controlled aperture tuning range not achievable with extant mechanical alternatives of a similar size.

Digital microfluidics： A promising technique for biochemical applications

Digital microfluidics （DMF） is a versatile microfluidics technology that has significant application potential in the areas of automation and miniaturization. In DME discrete droplets containing samples and reagents are controlled to implement a series of operations via electrowetting-on-dielectric. This process works by apply- ing electrical potentials to an array of electrodes coated with a hydrophobic dielectric layer. Unlike microchannels, DMF facilitates precise control over multiple reaction processes without using complex pump, microvalve, and tubing networks. DMF also presents other distinct features, such as portability, less sample consumption, shorter chemical reaction time, flexibility, and easier combination with other technology types. Due to its unique advantages, DMF has been applied to a broad range of fields （e.g., chemistry, biology, medicine, and environment）. This study reviews the basic principles of droplet actuation, configuration design, and fabrication of the DMF device, as well as discusses the latest progress in DMF from the biochemistry perspective.