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And Yet it Moves! Microfluidics Without Channels and Troughs
Author(s) -
Lugli Francesca,
Fioravanti Giulia,
Pattini Denise,
Pasquali Luca,
Montecchi Monica,
Gentili Denis,
Murgia Mauro,
Hemmatian Zahra,
Cavallini Massimiliano,
Zerbetto Francesco
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201300913
Subject(s) - materials science , contact angle , monolayer , microfluidics , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , silane , dissipative particle dynamics , chemical physics , nanotechnology , dissipative system , chemical engineering , composite material , polymer , thermodynamics , chemistry , physics , engineering
A simple, versatile, rapid, and inexpensive procedure based on the immersion method is developed to fabricate chemical gradients on chemically activated Si/SiO 2 surfaces by a trichloro (1H,1H,2H,2H‐perfluorooctyl) silane self‐assembly monolayer (SAM). Contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy data based on the intensity of the signals of C1s and F1s, which progressively increase, indicate that the surface is characterized by the presence of increasing amounts of the SAM along the gradient direction. Experimental conditions are optimized by maximizing the variation of the contact angle of water drops at the starting and the ending points of the gradient. The application of the chemical gradient to droplet motion is demonstrated. The results are rationalized by dissipative particle dynamics simulations that well match the observed contact angles and the velocities of the drops. The simulations also show that the intrinsic nature of the gradient affects the velocity of the motion.