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Chemotactic movement of ionic liquid droplets

Francis, Wayne, Florea, Larisa orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-4704-2393 and Diamond, Dermot orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2944-4839 (2015) Chemotactic movement of ionic liquid droplets. In: 1st Brazil Ireland Science Week, Dublin, Ireland, 23-26 Feb 2015, Dublin, Ireland.

Abstract
Chemotactic movement of ionic liquid droplets Herein we report the chemotactic behaviour of self-propelled droplets composed solely of the ionic liquid (IL) trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride ([P6,6,6,14][Cl]). These droplets move spontaneously across the liquid/interface and are guided to specific destinations within open fluidic channels through the use of chloride gradients. The movement of these droplets is controlled by the triggered release of the [P6,6,6,14] + cation, a component of the IL and a very efficient cationic surfactant. Surfactant release has been previously used to develop smart droplets which can solve complex mazes [1] or can be photo-manipulated [2]. In this study the [P6,6,6,14]+ diffuses from the droplet into the aqueous solution which causes a local drop in surface tension, this creates marangoni like flows which drive the droplet from areas of low surface tension to high surface tension. The rate of [P6,6,6,14]+ release depends on the concentration of the chloride in the aqueous solution, as the formation of free [P6,6,6,14]+ (the active surfactant at the air-aqueous interface) through dissociation of the relatively closely associated [P6,6,6,14][Cl] ions in the IL depends on the local Cl- concentration at the IL-aqueous boundary. We envision that these smart IL droplets could be used for a variety of applications within the microfluidic sector such as dynamic sensing, cargo transport and serve as micro-vessels for chemical reactions. Furthermore we believe this new approach to micro-vehicle movement will provide a much broader base for the development of a wide range of new droplet chemistries that exploit the vast and still rapidly growing numbers of ionic liquids. [1] I. Lagzi, S. Soh, P. Wesson, K. Browne and B. Grzybowski, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2010, 132, 1198-1199. [2] L. Florea, K. Wagner, P. Wagner, G. G. Wallace, F. Benito‐Lopez, D. L. Officer and D. Diamond, Advanced materials, 2014.
Metadata
Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Event Type:Conference
Refereed:No
Subjects:Engineering > Materials
Physical Sciences > Organic chemistry
Physical Sciences > Chemistry
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Chemical Sciences
Research Initiatives and Centres > INSIGHT Centre for Data Analytics
Research Initiatives and Centres > National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR)
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
Funders:Science Foundation Ireland
ID Code:20500
Deposited On:25 Mar 2015 10:55 by Wayne Francis . Last Modified 17 Sep 2018 09:34
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