Electrokinetic droplet transport from electroosmosis to electrophoresis

Author(s)
Andrei Bazarenko, Marcello Sega
Abstract

Droplet transport in microfluidic channels by electrically induced flows often entails the simultaneous presence of electroosmosis and electrophoresis. Here we make use of coupled lattice-Boltzmann/molecular dynamics simulations to compute the mobility of a droplet in a microchannel under the effect of an external electric field. By varying the droplet solvation free energy of the counterions released at the channel walls, we observe the continuous transition between the electroosmotic and electrophoretic regime. We show that it is possible to describe the mobility of a droplet in a unified, consistent way, by combining the theoretical description of the electroosmotic flow with, in this case, the Hückel limit of electrophoresis, modified in order to take into account the Hadamard-Rybczynski droplet drag.

Organisation(s)
Computational and Soft Matter Physics
External organisation(s)
Helmholtz-Institut Erlangen-Nürnberg für Erneuerbare Energien
Journal
Soft Matter
Volume
14
Pages
9571-9576
No. of pages
6
ISSN
1744-683X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C8SM01788C
Publication date
11-2018
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103032 Fluid mechanics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Condensed Matter Physics, General Chemistry
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/c7fd674d-0bab-466d-a02f-c2af4ad417aa