Manipulating Bubbles in Aqueous Environment via a Lubricant-Infused Slippery Surface

5 years ago

Manipulating Bubbles in Aqueous Environment via a Lubricant-Infused Slippery Surface

Moyuan Cao, Lei Jiang, Kan Li, Xuanbo Zhu, Cunming Yu

Designing functional interfaces to control solid/fluid interactions has emerged as an indispensable strategy for developing advanced materials and optimizing current technologies. Surfaces exhibiting special wettability offer many paradigms for regulating fluid behavior in practical applications including oil–water separation and fog harvesting. Nevertheless, the flexible manipulation of air bubbles under water still has room for further exploration. Here, it is reported that the lubricant-infused slippery (LIS) surface with water repellency is applicable to manipulate bubbles in an aqueous environment. On the basis of the sufficient bubble adhesion, the shaped LIS tracks can be used in guiding the bubble delivery and facilitating continuous bubble distribution. Through the incorporation of an asymmetrical structure into the LIS surface, a triangle-shaped bubble holder is capable of controlling a single bubble with ease. Moreover, the LIS surface is integrated with a H2 microbubble evolving apparatus, demonstrating a potential method for in situ capture and delivery of microbubbles. The current finding reveals the meaningful interaction between underwater bubbles and the LIS surface, providing several examples for the applications of this bubble carrier, which should shed new light on the development of bubble-controlling interfaces. Smart manipulation of underwater bubbles depends on the functional interface with special wettability. The hydrophobic lubricant-infused slippery substrate is proven to have promising bubble capturing and delivering ability in an aqueous environment, which facilitates a series of continuous and controllable bubble manipulating processes.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201701605