Electrotunable liquid sulfur microdroplets

Guangmin Zhou, Ankun Yang, Yifei Wang, Guoping Gao, Allen Pei, Xiaoyun Yu, Yangying Zhu, Linqi Zong, Bofei Liu, Jinwei Xu, Nian Liu, Jinsong Zhang, Yanxi Li, Lin-Wang Wang, Harold Y. Hwang, Mark L. Brongersma, Steven Chu and Yi Cui ()
Additional contact information
Guangmin Zhou: Stanford University
Ankun Yang: Stanford University
Yifei Wang: Stanford University
Guoping Gao: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Allen Pei: Stanford University
Xiaoyun Yu: Stanford University
Yangying Zhu: Stanford University
Linqi Zong: Stanford University
Bofei Liu: Stanford University
Jinwei Xu: Stanford University
Nian Liu: Stanford University
Jinsong Zhang: Stanford University
Yanxi Li: Stanford University
Lin-Wang Wang: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Harold Y. Hwang: Stanford University
Mark L. Brongersma: Stanford University
Steven Chu: Stanford University
Yi Cui: Stanford University

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Manipulating liquids with tunable shape and optical functionalities in real time is important for electroactive flow devices and optoelectronic devices, but remains a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate electrotunable liquid sulfur microdroplets in an electrochemical cell. We observe electrowetting and merging of sulfur droplets under different potentiostatic conditions, and successfully control these processes via selective design of sulfiphilic/sulfiphobic substrates. Moreover, we employ the electrowetting phenomena to create a microlens based on the liquid sulfur microdroplets and tune its characteristics in real time through changing the shape of the liquid microdroplets in a fast, repeatable, and controlled manner. These studies demonstrate a powerful in situ optical battery platform for unraveling the complex reaction mechanism of sulfur chemistries and for exploring the rich material properties of the liquid sulfur, which shed light on the applications of liquid sulfur droplets in devices such as microlenses, and potentially other electrotunable and optoelectronic devices.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14438-2

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