Photocontrol of fluid slugs in liquid crystal polymer microactuators

Jiu-an Lv, Yuyun Liu, Jia Wei, Erqiang Chen, Lang Qin and Yanlei Yu ()
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Jiu-an Lv: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University
Yuyun Liu: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University
Jia Wei: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University
Erqiang Chen: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University
Lang Qin: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University
Yanlei Yu: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University

Nature, 2016, vol. 537, issue 7619, 179-184

Abstract: Abstract The manipulation of small amounts of liquids has applications ranging from biomedical devices to liquid transfer. Direct light-driven manipulation of liquids, especially when triggered by light-induced capillary forces, is of particular interest because light can provide contactless spatial and temporal control. However, existing light-driven technologies suffer from an inherent limitation in that liquid motion is strongly resisted by the effect of contact-line pinning. Here we report a strategy to manipulate fluid slugs by photo-induced asymmetric deformation of tubular microactuators, which induces capillary forces for liquid propulsion. Microactuators with various shapes (straight, ‘Y’-shaped, serpentine and helical) are fabricated from a mechanically robust linear liquid crystal polymer. These microactuators are able to exert photocontrol of a wide diversity of liquids over a long distance with controllable velocity and direction, and hence to mix multiphase liquids, to combine liquids and even to make liquids run uphill. We anticipate that this photodeformable microactuator will find use in micro-reactors, in laboratory-on-a-chip settings and in micro-optomechanical systems.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/nature19344

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