Electrokinetically driven reversible banding of colloidal particles near the wall

Directed colloidal assembly and banding via DC electrokinetics

Manipulating the transport and assembly of colloidal particles to form segregated bands or ordered supracolloidal structures plays an important role in many aspects of science and technology, from understanding the origin of life to synthesizing new materials for next-generation manufacturing, electronics, and therapeutics. One commonly used method to direct colloidal transport and assembly is the application of electric fields, either AC or DC, due to its feasibility. However, as colloidal segregation and assembly both require active redistribution of colloidal particles across multiple length scales, it is not apparent at first sight how a DC electric field, either externally applied or internally induced, can lead to colloidal structuring. In this Perspective, we briefly review and highlight recent advances and standing challenges in colloidal transport and assembly enabled by DC electrokinetics.

Continuous flow microfluidics for colloidal particle assembly on porous substrates

Self-assembly of colloidal particles for 'bottom-up' fabrication of various patterns and structures is critical for a range of applications including, but not limited to, energy generation and storage, nanomaterial structures, biomimetics, and biosensing. Multiple self-assembly techniques, such as substrate templating-via topological or chemical patterning-and solvent evaporation were discussed in our previous papers and have been developed for the deposition of patterned self-assembled structures, such as bands of colloidal particles, on various substrates. While the templating techniques are limited in applications due to the requirements for pattern-specific prior substrate engineering to fabricate the desired structure, solvent evaporation requires longer assembly times and precise control over environmental conditions. In this paper, a template-free, continuous flow process, which is facilitated by continuous solvent drainage through porous substrates, is demonstrated for the self-assembly of colloidal particles into high-aspect ratio (>10³, length to width) structures, such as linear arrays or grid structures. Colloidal particles were assembled both on polymeric and metallic porous membranes, with rapid assembly times.

Visualization of Concentration Gradients and Colloidal Dynamics under Electrodiffusiophoresis

In this work, we present an experimental study of the dynamics of charged colloids under direct currents and gradients of chemical species (electrodiffusiophoresis). In our approach, we simultaneously visualize the development of concentration polarization and the ensuing dynamics of charged colloids near electrodes. With the aid of confocal microscopy and fluorescent probes, we show that the passage of current through water confined between electrodes, separated about a hundred microns, results in significant pH gradients. Depending on the current density and initial conditions, steep pH gradients develop, thus becoming a significant factor in the behavior of charged colloids. Furthermore, we show that steep pH gradients induce the focusing of charged colloids away from both electrodes. Our results provide the experimental basis for further development of models of electrodiffusiophoresis and the design of non-equilibrium strategies for the fabrication of advanced materials.

Observations of the near-wall accumulation of suspended particles due to shear and electroosmotic flow in opposite directions

On the basis of previous studies, the particles in a dilute (volume fractions φ_∞ < 4 × 10^-3 ) suspension in combined Poiseuille and electroosmotic "counterflow" at flow Reynolds numbers Re ≤ 1 accumulate, then assemble into structures called "bands," within ∼6 μm of the channel wall. The experimental studies presented here use a small fraction of tracer particles labeled with a different fluorophore from the majority "bulk" particles to visualize the dynamics of individual particles in a φ_∞ = 1.7 × 10^-3  suspension. The results at two different near-wall shear rates and three electric field magnitudes E show that the near-wall particles are concentrated about 150-fold when the bands start to form, and are then concentrated about 200-fold to a maximum near-wall volume fraction of ∼0.34. The growth in the near-wall particles during this accumulation stage appears to be exponential. This near-wall particle accumulation is presumably driven by a wall-normal "lift" force. The observations of how the particles accumulate near the wall are compared with recent analyses that predict that suspended particles subject to shear flow and a dc electric field at small particle Reynolds numbers experience such a lift force. A simple model that assumes that the particles are subject to this lift force and Stokes drag suggests that the force driving particles toward the wall, of O(10^-17 N), is consistent with the time scales for particle accumulation observed in the experiments.

Combined electrokinetic and shear flows control colloidal particle distribution across microchannel cross-sections

Recent experimental observations on combined electrokinetic and shear flows of colloidal suspensions in rectangular cross-section microfluidic channels have shown unusual cross-stream colloidal particle migration and dynamic assembly. Although a new electrophoresis-induced lift force has been postulated to cause the lateral migration of colloidal particles, little is known about how fluid properties and flow conditions impact this force and therefore subsequent colloidal particle migration. Furthermore, no experimental quantification of this electrophoresis-induced lift force is available. We report several key advances by demonstrating that the kinematic viscosity of the fluid can be used to modulate the spatial distribution of particles over the entire microchannel cross-section, with suppression of the colloidal particle migration observed with increase in fluid kinematic viscosity. Colloidal particle migration of ∼10 μm from not only the top and bottom microchannel walls but also from the side walls is shown with the corresponding electrophoresis-induced lift force of up to ∼30 fN. The breadth of flow conditions tested capture the channel Reynolds number in the 0.1-1.1 range, with inertial migration of colloidal particles shown in flow regimes where the migration was previously thought to be ineffective, if not for the electrophoresis-induced lift force. The ability of the electrophoresis-induced lift force to migrate colloidal particles across the entire microchannel cross-section establishes a new paradigm for three-dimensional control of colloidal particles within confined microchannels.

Regulating the aggregation of colloidal particles in an electro-osmotic micropump

Unrestricted particle transport through microfluidic channels is of paramount importance to a wide range of applications, including lab-on-a-chip devices. In this article, we study via video microscopy the electro-osmotic aggregation of colloidal particles at the opening of a micrometer-sized silica channel in the presence of a salt gradient. Particle aggregation eventually leads to clogging of the channel, which may be undone by a time-adjusted reversal of the applied electric potential. We numerically model our system via the Stokes-Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations in a geometry that approximates the real sample. This allows us to identify the transport processes induced by the electric field and salt gradient and to provide evidence that a balance thereof leads to aggregation. We further demonstrate experimentally that a net flow of colloids through the channel may be achieved by applying a square-waveform electric potential with an appropriately tuned duty cycle. Our results serve to guide the design of microfluidic and nanofluidic pumps that allow for controlled particle transport and provide new insights for anti-fouling in ultra-filtration.

Field effect nanofluidics

Nanoscale fluid transport through conduits in the 1-100 nm range is termed as nanofluidics. Over the past decade or so, significant scientific and technological advances have occurred in the domain of nanofluidics with a transverse external electrical signal through a dielectric layer permitting control over ionic and fluid flows in these nanoscale conduits. Consequently, this special class of nanofluidic devices is commonly referred to as field effect devices, analogous to the solid-state field effect transistors that form the basis for modern electronics. In this mini-review, we focus on summarizing the recent developments in field effect nanofluidics as a discipline and evaluate both tutorially and critically the scientific and technological advances that have been reported, including a discussion on the future outlook and identifying broad open questions which suggest that there are many breakthroughs still to come in field-effect nanofluidics.

Dielectrophoretic sphere-wall repulsion due to a uniform electric field

When a zero-net-charge particle is placed under a uniform electric field, the decay of the Maxwell stress with the third power of distance ensures a nil electric force. A nonzero force may nonetheless be generated in the presence of a planar wall due to a mechanism which resembles conventional dielectrophoresis under nonuniform fields. In the prototypical case of a spherical particle this force acts perpendicular to the wall; its magnitude depends upon the pertinent boundary conditions governing the electric potential. When a particle is suspended in an electrolyte solution, where the double-layer structure ensures zero net charge, these conditions are electrokinetic in nature; they involve a balance between bulk conduction and diffusion, represented by normal derivatives, and an effective surface-conduction mechanism, represented by surface-Laplacian terms whose magnitude is quantified by appropriate Dukhin numbers. The dimensionless force depends upon the particle and wall Dukhin numbers as well as the ratio λ of the size of the particle to its distance from the wall. The remote-particle limit λ ≪ 1 is addressed using successive reflections. Calculation of the first few terms in the asymptotic expansion of the force only requires the evaluation of a single reflection from the wall. The leading-order term, scaling as λ(4), is repulsive, with a magnitude that varies non-monotonically with the particle Dukhin number and is independent of the wall Dukhin number. Surface conditions on the wall enter only at the O(λ(5)) leading-order correction.

Using Shear and Direct Current Electric Fields to Manipulate and Self-Assemble Dielectric Particles on Microchannel Walls

Manipulating suspended neutrally buoyant colloidal particles of radii a = O (0.1–1 μm) near solid surfaces, or walls, is a key technology in various microfluidics devices. These particles, suspended in an aqueous solution at rest near a solid surface, or wall, are subject to wall-normal “lift” forces described by the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory of colloid science. The particles experience additional lift forces, however, when suspended in a flowing solution. A fundamental understanding of such lift forces could therefore lead to new methods for the transport and self-assembly of particles near and on solid surfaces. Various studies have reported repulsive electroviscous and hydrodynamic lift forces on colloidal particles in Poiseuille flow (with a constant shear rate γ· near the wall) driven by a pressure gradient. A few studies have also observed repulsive dielectrophoretic-like lift forces in electroosmotic (EO) flows driven by electric fields. Recently, evanescent-wave particle tracking has been used to quantify near-wall lift forces on a = 125–245 nm polystyrene (PS) particles suspended in a monovalent electrolyte solution in EO flow, Poiseuille flow, and combined Poiseuille and EO flow through ∼30 μm deep fused-silica channels. In Poiseuille flow, the repulsive lift force appears to be proportional to γ·, a scaling consistent with hydrodynamic, versus electroviscous, lift. In combined Poiseuille and EO flow, the lift forces can be repulsive or attractive, depending upon whether the EO flow is in the same or opposite direction as the Poiseuille flow, respectively. The magnitude of the force appears to be proportional to the electric field magnitude. Moreover, the force in combined flow exceeds the sum of the forces observed in EO flow for the same electric field and in Poiseuille flow for the same γ·. Initial results also imply that this force, when repulsive, scales as γ·1/2. These results suggest that the lift force in combined flow is fundamentally different from electroviscous, hydrodynamic, or dielectrophoretic-like lift. Moreover, for the case when the EO flow opposes the Poiseuille flow, the particles self-assemble into dense stable periodic streamwise bands with an average width of ∼6 μm and a spacing of 2–4 times the band width when the electric field magnitude exceeds a threshold value. These results are described and reviewed here.