Unidirectional liquid transport(UDLT)has been widely used in various fields as an important process for transferring both mass and energy.However,UDLT driven by a structural gradient has been witnessed for a long time...Unidirectional liquid transport(UDLT)has been widely used in various fields as an important process for transferring both mass and energy.However,UDLT driven by a structural gradient has been witnessed for a long time only in wettable liquids.For nonwettable liquids,UDLT can hardly proceed merely by a structural gradient.Herein,we propose an asymmetrically concave structured surface(AMC-surface),featuring tip-to-base periodically arranged pyramid-shaped concave structures with a certain degree of overlap,which enables the UDLT of both wettable and nonwettable liquids.For wettable liquids,the capillary force along each corner leads to the UDLT pointing toward the base side of the concave pyramid,while for nonwettable liquids,the UDLT is attributable to the static liquid pressure overwhelming the repulsive Laplace pressure induced by the asymmetric grooves and overlapping part.As a result,both wettable and nonwettable liquids transport spontaneously and unidirectionally on the AMC-surface with no energy input.Moreover,the concave structure endows good mechanical stability and can be easily prepared using a facile nail-punching approach over a large area.We also demonstrated its application in a continuous chemical reaction in a confined area.We envision that the unique UDLT behavior on the as-developed AMC-surface will shed new light on the programmable manipulation of various liquids.展开更多
Many natural creatures have demonstrated unique abilities in directional liquid transport(DLT)for better adapting to the local environment,which,for a long time,have inspired the material fabrication for applications ...Many natural creatures have demonstrated unique abilities in directional liquid transport(DLT)for better adapting to the local environment,which,for a long time,have inspired the material fabrication for applications in microfluidics,self-cleaning,water collection,etc.Recently,DLTs aroused by the corner effect have been witnessed in various natural organisms,where liquid transports/spreads spontaneously along the corner structures in microgrooves,wedges or conical structures driven by micro-/nano-scaled capillary forces without external energy input.Particularly,these DLTs show advantages of ultrahigh speed,continuous proceeding,and/or external controllability.Here,we reviewed recent research advances on the bioinspired DLTs induced by the corner effect,as well as the involved mechanisms and the artificial counterpart materials with various applications.We also introduced some bioinspired materials that are capable of stimulus-responsive DLT under external fields.Finally,we suggested perspectives of the bioinspired DLTs in liquid manipulations.展开更多
Manipulation and dispensing of ultra‐tiny droplets have attracted extensive research attention for their applications.Current approaches for dispensing liquids normally involve the use of micronozzles and microtips,w...Manipulation and dispensing of ultra‐tiny droplets have attracted extensive research attention for their applications.Current approaches for dispensing liquids normally involve the use of micronozzles and microtips,which,however,suffer from limitations of clogging,high cost,and fragility.Here,we developed a facile open fibrous system for preparing nano‐pico droplets in a facile way,where the macroscopic droplet on a micro‐/nano‐textured copper fiber could be dispersed to a number of tiny droplets by applying and removing a suitable electric potential.The on‐site tunable interfacial energy,imparted by the electrical alterable density and orientation of the water molecules on the interface,leads to fine control of the spreading and retraction of the liquid on a large scale.Meanwhile,the fibrous microporous structure promotes the splitting of the liquid film based on the domain‐limiting effect during the retracting process.As a synergistic consequence,a big droplet firstly spreads completely on the poised fiber into a thin liquid film,which was then split and retracted toward the numerous anchoring points on the textured surface by removing the potential.Consequently,a big droplet can be dispersed into numerous nano‐pico droplets in a controllable way.The strategy is applicable for versatile low‐surface‐energy liquids,offering an innovative open system for continuous preparation of nano‐pico droplets.展开更多
Flexible transparent electrodes(FTEs)made of silver nanowires(AgNWs)have been widely used in wearable and foldable electronics devices.For obtaining FTEs with both high transparency and low resistance,the AgNWs networ...Flexible transparent electrodes(FTEs)made of silver nanowires(AgNWs)have been widely used in wearable and foldable electronics devices.For obtaining FTEs with both high transparency and low resistance,the AgNWs network should be highly cross-aligned with a low density.Various solution processes have been developed,but most suffer from poor control of the distribution of the AgNWs.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars(22125201)and the National Natural ScienceFoundation of China(22105013,21872002).
文摘Unidirectional liquid transport(UDLT)has been widely used in various fields as an important process for transferring both mass and energy.However,UDLT driven by a structural gradient has been witnessed for a long time only in wettable liquids.For nonwettable liquids,UDLT can hardly proceed merely by a structural gradient.Herein,we propose an asymmetrically concave structured surface(AMC-surface),featuring tip-to-base periodically arranged pyramid-shaped concave structures with a certain degree of overlap,which enables the UDLT of both wettable and nonwettable liquids.For wettable liquids,the capillary force along each corner leads to the UDLT pointing toward the base side of the concave pyramid,while for nonwettable liquids,the UDLT is attributable to the static liquid pressure overwhelming the repulsive Laplace pressure induced by the asymmetric grooves and overlapping part.As a result,both wettable and nonwettable liquids transport spontaneously and unidirectionally on the AMC-surface with no energy input.Moreover,the concave structure endows good mechanical stability and can be easily prepared using a facile nail-punching approach over a large area.We also demonstrated its application in a continuous chemical reaction in a confined area.We envision that the unique UDLT behavior on the as-developed AMC-surface will shed new light on the programmable manipulation of various liquids.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2018YFA0704801)the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Young Scholar(No.22125201)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21872002 and 22105013).
文摘Many natural creatures have demonstrated unique abilities in directional liquid transport(DLT)for better adapting to the local environment,which,for a long time,have inspired the material fabrication for applications in microfluidics,self-cleaning,water collection,etc.Recently,DLTs aroused by the corner effect have been witnessed in various natural organisms,where liquid transports/spreads spontaneously along the corner structures in microgrooves,wedges or conical structures driven by micro-/nano-scaled capillary forces without external energy input.Particularly,these DLTs show advantages of ultrahigh speed,continuous proceeding,and/or external controllability.Here,we reviewed recent research advances on the bioinspired DLTs induced by the corner effect,as well as the involved mechanisms and the artificial counterpart materials with various applications.We also introduced some bioinspired materials that are capable of stimulus-responsive DLT under external fields.Finally,we suggested perspectives of the bioinspired DLTs in liquid manipulations.
基金National Key R&D Program of China,Grant/Award Number:2018YFA0704801National Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Young Scholar,Grant/Award Number:22125201+1 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,Grant/Award Number:21872002Beijing Natural Science Foundation,Grant/Award Number:Z210018。
文摘Manipulation and dispensing of ultra‐tiny droplets have attracted extensive research attention for their applications.Current approaches for dispensing liquids normally involve the use of micronozzles and microtips,which,however,suffer from limitations of clogging,high cost,and fragility.Here,we developed a facile open fibrous system for preparing nano‐pico droplets in a facile way,where the macroscopic droplet on a micro‐/nano‐textured copper fiber could be dispersed to a number of tiny droplets by applying and removing a suitable electric potential.The on‐site tunable interfacial energy,imparted by the electrical alterable density and orientation of the water molecules on the interface,leads to fine control of the spreading and retraction of the liquid on a large scale.Meanwhile,the fibrous microporous structure promotes the splitting of the liquid film based on the domain‐limiting effect during the retracting process.As a synergistic consequence,a big droplet firstly spreads completely on the poised fiber into a thin liquid film,which was then split and retracted toward the numerous anchoring points on the textured surface by removing the potential.Consequently,a big droplet can be dispersed into numerous nano‐pico droplets in a controllable way.The strategy is applicable for versatile low‐surface‐energy liquids,offering an innovative open system for continuous preparation of nano‐pico droplets.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(no.2018YFA0704801)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(no.21872002).
文摘Flexible transparent electrodes(FTEs)made of silver nanowires(AgNWs)have been widely used in wearable and foldable electronics devices.For obtaining FTEs with both high transparency and low resistance,the AgNWs network should be highly cross-aligned with a low density.Various solution processes have been developed,but most suffer from poor control of the distribution of the AgNWs.
