A Novel Electroosmotic Micromixer with Asymmetric Lateral Structures and DC Electrode Arrays

Abstract

We present a novel electroosmotic micromixer that consists of arrays of direct current (DC) asymmetric electrode and asymmetric lateral structures. By embedding asymmetric electrode arrays on the top and bottom walls of a rectangular microchannel appropriately, the flow perturbations and vortexes can be induced when a DC electric field is imposed. An efficient lateral structure is then sequentially combined with the rectangular microchannel, which enhances the mixing effect significantly. The effects of operational parameters such as the Reynolds number, the applied potential, and the Peclet number on the mixing performance are analyzed in detail by numerical simulations. The results indicate that an enhanced mixing performance can be achieved with low applied potential. The novel method proposed in this paper provides a simple solution for mixing in the field of micro-total-analysis systems.

Simulation analysis of rectifying microfluidic mixing with field‐effect‐tunable electrothermal induced flow

“…), respectively, in commensurate with the actual situation for flow mixing. Besides, normal diffusion flux may reach zero at the channel exit .…”

Editorial for the Special Issue on Micro/Nano-Chip Electrokinetics, Volume II

“…Ahmed and Kim [ 26 ] presented a numerical parametric study of electroosmotic micro-mixers with heterogeneously charged surface patches on channel walls. In another study, Chen et al [ 27 ] proposed and numerically verified the use of embedded asymmetric electrode arrays on microchannel walls to generate vortices for mixing enhancement.…”

Electrokinetic‐vortex formation near a two‐part cylinder with same‐sign zeta potentials in a straight microchannel

“…Passive methods do not need external energy sources, but the channels of such methods usually need to be designed with complex structures, thereby increasing the fabrication difficulty. By contrast, active methods generate vortices by applying external sources such as acoustic field [28–30], magnetic field [31–34], and electric field [35–38] in microchannels.…”