Photo-controllable azobenzene microdroplets on an open surface and their application as transporters.
Mater Horiz
; 11(6): 1495-1501, 2024 Mar 18.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38226904
ABSTRACT
The control of droplet motion is a significant challenge, as there has been no simple method for effective manipulation. Utilizing light for the control of droplets offers a promising solution due to its non-contact nature and high degree of controllability. In this study, we present our findings on the translational motion of pre-photomelted droplets composed of azobenzene derivatives on a glass surface when exposed to UV and visible light sources from different directions. These droplets exhibited directional and continuous motion upon light irradiation and this motion was size-dependent. Only droplets with diameters less than 10 µm moved with a maximum velocity of 300 µm min-1. In addition, the direction of the movement was controllable by the direction of the light. The motion is driven by a change in contact angle, where UV or visible light switched the contact angle to approximately 50° or 35°, respectively. In addition, these droplets were also found to be capable carriers for fluorescent quantum dots. As such, droplets composed of photoresponsive molecules offer unique opportunities for designing novel light-driven open-surface microfluidic systems.
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1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article