Edge Effect on Drop Separation of a Carbon Nanotube Inkjet-Printed Electrode for an Active Microfluidic Paper Chip

초록

Manipulation of a drop on two different types of active paper-based micro fluidic chips, open and closed, in which the drop was actively actuated by using an electrowetting phenomenon has been explored. Carbon nanotube (CNT) ink was inkjet-printed as an overlay to obtain a good conductive electrode, yielding the formation of the CNT electrode with a micro-edge, which is undesirable for the fabrication of flat planar chips. Unexpectedly, we found that the edge of the CNT electrode induced an attractive cohesive force. This edge effect, acting as an additional actuating force, helped in splitting the drop into the fractional partitions effectively. This technique holds promise as a good way to dispense a drop from a reservoir, which is required for all drop actuations demanded on active paper chips. In addition to the edge effect, a hydrophilic surface of the chip is also useful for drop separation.

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