TY - JOUR
T1 - A Liquid–Solid Contact Electrification Based All-Optical Liquid Flow Sensor for Microfluidic Analysis in Biomedical Applications
AU - Su, Li
AU - Xiong, Quan
AU - Zhu, Yuyan
AU - Zi, Yunlong
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by HKSAR General Research Fund (Grant No. 14200120 and 14202121), the National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (Grant No. 61804042), and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Grant No. P0030234). This work was supported in part by the Project of Hetao Shenzhen‐Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (HZQB‐KCZYB‐2020083).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Liquid flow sensor is an important component of the microfluidic system for analytical science and biomedical systems. However, traditional microfluidic systems are complex in structure, costly, bulky, and generate environmental pollutants. Herein, a novel and high-performance self-powered all-optical liquid flow sensor (ALFS) based on triboelectrification-induced electroluminescence (TIEL) is proposed. The TIEL signal is self-generated in real time through contact electrification between a polymer–fluid–air surface and moving fluid. Moreover, the amplitude and time span of the electric field can be swiftly altered by adjusting the bottom grid electrode layer with an appropriate geometric design, so that a high sensitivity of 0.089 s mm–1 and an extremely low flow velocity limit of 1 mm s–1 can be achieved. The velocity, volume, and composition of the liquid flow can be obtained either by observation or through optical information extraction from data analysis software. Furthermore, the ALFS can be incorporated into an infusion monitor and a microfluidic chip for biomedical applications. This work proposes not only an innovative method for liquid flow monitoring but also a new rationale of coupling triboelectrification into the microfluidic system design, which potentially has a wide range of applications in the medical, biological, and industrial fields.
AB - Liquid flow sensor is an important component of the microfluidic system for analytical science and biomedical systems. However, traditional microfluidic systems are complex in structure, costly, bulky, and generate environmental pollutants. Herein, a novel and high-performance self-powered all-optical liquid flow sensor (ALFS) based on triboelectrification-induced electroluminescence (TIEL) is proposed. The TIEL signal is self-generated in real time through contact electrification between a polymer–fluid–air surface and moving fluid. Moreover, the amplitude and time span of the electric field can be swiftly altered by adjusting the bottom grid electrode layer with an appropriate geometric design, so that a high sensitivity of 0.089 s mm–1 and an extremely low flow velocity limit of 1 mm s–1 can be achieved. The velocity, volume, and composition of the liquid flow can be obtained either by observation or through optical information extraction from data analysis software. Furthermore, the ALFS can be incorporated into an infusion monitor and a microfluidic chip for biomedical applications. This work proposes not only an innovative method for liquid flow monitoring but also a new rationale of coupling triboelectrification into the microfluidic system design, which potentially has a wide range of applications in the medical, biological, and industrial fields.
KW - all-optical liquid flow sensors
KW - biomedical applications
KW - liquid–solid contact electrification
KW - microfluidic analysis
KW - triboelectrification-induced electroluminescence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137196662&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adfm.202207096
DO - 10.1002/adfm.202207096
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85137196662
SN - 1616-301X
JO - Advanced Functional Materials
JF - Advanced Functional Materials
ER -