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Liquid‐Metal Microdroplets Formed Dynamically with Electrical Control of Size and Rate
Author(s) -
Tang ShiYang,
Joshipura Ishan D.,
Lin Yiliang,
KalantarZadeh Kourosh,
Mitchell Arnan,
Khoshmanesh Khashayar,
Dickey Michael D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201503875
Subject(s) - materials science , microfluidics , body orifice , electrolyte , liquid metal , microsystem , surface tension , electrohydrodynamics , volumetric flow rate , metal , nanotechnology , voltage , electrochemistry , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , composite material , electrode , mechanics , metallurgy , mechanical engineering , electrical engineering , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Liquid metal co‐injected with electrolyte through a microfluidic flow‐focusing orifice forms droplets with diameters and production frequencies controlled in real time by voltage. Applying voltage to the liquid metal controls the interfacial tension via a combination of electrochemistry and electrocapillarity. This simple and effective method can instantaneously tune the size of the microdroplets, which has applications in composites, catalysts, and microsystems.