A Performance-enhanced Electroosmotic Pump with Track-etched Polycarbonate Membrane by Allylhydridopolycarbosilane Coating

Abstract

Nanochannel plastic membranes are excellent materials for electroosmotic pump (EOP) elements owing to their surface charge properties, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. However, the surface charge properties of plastics are inferior to those of silicate-based materials. This paper reports a performance-enhanced EOP equipped with a glassified track-etch polycarbonate membrane (PC), which has a nanochannel surface covered by allylhydridopolycarbosilane (AHPCS). The effects of applied voltage, pH and membrane pore size on the electroosmotic flow velocity, along with comparative study of the EOP with coated and pure membranes were investigated. It was found that when low DC voltage (1040 V) was applied at both ends of the pump, the magnitude of the electroosmotic flow was linearly proportional to the voltage when the pore sizes of membrane were below 600-nm. Higher the flow rate obtained with larger pore size membrane. Compared with the uncoated film, the coated one showed faster electroosmosis velocity, with higher stability under the same conditions. For pH 10.0 buffer solution, a flow rate of 89.13 μL/min obtained in the modified membrane based EOP with excellent repeatability and durability, while the flow rate was only 37.89 μL/min in the bare PC membrane under 20 V.In order to demonstrate the performance of the developed EOP, the EOP was used to a microcomplexometric titration to determine actual tap water hardness. The measured results were considerably consistent with a conventional complexometric titration. The EOP with an AHPCS-coated plastic membrane expanded the application ranges to harsh condition solutions like high concentration acids or bases.

Track-etched membrane microplate and smartphone immunosensing for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody

“…In contrast, one-step TEMFIS-sVNT was beneficial from TEM-microplate and simply finished within 45 min. TEM has the smooth surface and no adsorption of liquids, of which the precision filtration characteristics can be used to filter excessive reactants smaller than its pore size ( Tian et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2012 ). Based on filtration with 3μm pore size of TEM in this study, the blood components of more supple erythrocytes, smaller platelets and fresh plasma are allowed to pass or be washed away ( Rodriguez et al, 2005 ; Jokerst et al, 2008 ), but 5μm PBs complexes are retained in the TEM-microwells.…”

Ion Selective Nanochannels: From Critical Principles to Sensing and Biosensing Applications

“…[42][43][44] Longer nanochannel arrays were applied as effi cient compounds in other applications such as filters for sepa rating molecules, [45] proton exchange membrane systems in fuel cells, [46] templates for synthesizing nanowires, [41,47,48] supercapac itor electrodes, and membranes for electroosmotic pumps. [49]…”

Controlled Sweat Removal in Performance Wear Using Electrically Activated Textiles

“…Research has emphasized the importance of the thickness and diameter of the microchannels in achieving a short distance between the electrodes, essential for creating a strong electrical field to maximize the flow [1,3]. As electrodes, both conductive textiles and conductive thin films directly applied over the membrane using different deposition techniques have been explored [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Textiles offer the advantages of flexibility, breathability, and other wearability requirements, and can be metalized, made of conductive polymers, or a combination of both, each having its own set of pros and cons in the specific application.…”