Open AccessHydrophilic Sponges for Leaf‐Inspired Continuous Pumping of Liquids
Author(s) -
Zhou Tingjiao,
Yang Jinbin,
Zhu Deyong,
Zheng Jieyao,
HandschuhWang Stephan,
Zhou Xiaohu,
Zhang Junmin,
Liu Yizhen,
Liu Zhou,
He Chuanxin,
Zhou Xuechang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201700028
Subject(s) - laminar flow , materials science , polydimethylsiloxane , microfluidics , polyvinyl alcohol , micromixing , flow (mathematics) , evaporation , capillary action , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , volumetric flow rate , composite material , mechanics , physics , thermodynamics , engineering
A bio‐inspired, leaf‐like pumping strategy by mimicking the transpiration process through leaves is developed for autonomous and continuous liquid transport enabled by durable hydrophilic sponges. Without any external power sources, flows are continuously generated ascribed to the combination of capillary wicking and evaporation of water. To validate this method, durable hydrophilic polydimethylsiloxane sponges modified with polyvinyl alcohol via a “dip‐coat‐dry” method have been fabricated, which maintains hydrophilicity more than 2 months. The as‐made sponges are further applied to achieve stable laminar flow patterns, chemical gradients, and “stop‐flow” manipulation of the flow in microfluidic devices. More importantly, the ease‐of‐operation and excellent pumping capacity have also been verified with over 24 h's pumping and quasi‐stable high flow rates up to 15 µL min −1 . The present strategy can be easily integrated to other miniaturized systems requiring pressure‐driven flow and should have potential applications, such as cell culture, micromixing, and continuous flow reaction.