THESIS
2015
Abstract
This thesis contributes to the investigation of controls of nanofluidic fluids by utilizing
hybrid surface patterns in nanochannel.
Nanofluidics is a core and interdisciplinary research field which manipulates, controls and
analyzes fluids in nanoscale and develop potential bio/chemical applications. This thesis studies
the surface-induced phenomena in nanofluidics, we use surface decoration on nanochannel walls
to investigate the influences on fluid motion and further explore the fundamental physical
principle of this behavior.
To begin with, we designed and fabricated the nanofluidic mixer for the first time, which
comprised hybrid surface patterns with different wettabilities on both top and bottom walls of
nanochannel. Although microfluidic mixers have been intensively inve...[
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This thesis contributes to the investigation of controls of nanofluidic fluids by utilizing
hybrid surface patterns in nanochannel.
Nanofluidics is a core and interdisciplinary research field which manipulates, controls and
analyzes fluids in nanoscale and develop potential bio/chemical applications. This thesis studies
the surface-induced phenomena in nanofluidics, we use surface decoration on nanochannel walls
to investigate the influences on fluid motion and further explore the fundamental physical
principle of this behavior.
To begin with, we designed and fabricated the nanofluidic mixer for the first time, which
comprised hybrid surface patterns with different wettabilities on both top and bottom walls of
nanochannel. Although microfluidic mixers have been intensively investigated, nanofluidic
mixer has never been reported. Without any inside geometric structure of nanochannel, the
mixing phenomenon can be achieved by the surface patterns and the mixing length can be
significantly shortened comparing with micromixer. We attribute this achievement to the chaotic
flows of two fluids induced by the patterned surface. The surface-related phenomena may not be
so prominent on large scale, however, it is pronounced when the scale shrinks down to
nanometer due to the large surface-to-volume ratio in nanochannel.
In the second part of this work, based on the technology of nanofabrication and similar
principle, we built up another novel method to control the speed of capillary flow in nanochannel
in a quantitative manner. Surface patterns were fabricated on the nanochannel walls to slow
down the capillary flow. The flow speed can be precisely controlled by modifying
hydrophobicity ratio. Under the extreme surface-to-volume ratio in nanochannel, the significant
surface effect on the fluid effectively reduced the speed of capillary flow without any external
energy source and equipment. Such approach may be adopted for a wide variety of nanofluidics-based
biochemical analysis systems.
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