ABSTRACT
Controlling the spontaneous directional transport of droplets plays an important role in the application of microchemical reactions and microdroplet detection. Although the relevant technologies have been widely studied, the existing spontaneous droplet transport strategies still face problems of complex structure, single function, and poor flexibility. Inspired by the spontaneous droplet transport strategy in nature, an asymmetric wettability surface with microcone channels (AWS-MC) is prepared on a flexible fabric by combining surface modification and femtosecond laser manufacturing technology. On this surface, the capillary force and Laplace pressure induced by the wettability gradient and the geometric structure gradient drive the droplet transport from the hydrophobic surface to the hydrophilic surface. Notably, droplets in adjacent hydrophilic regions do not exchange substances even if the gap in the hydrophilic region is only 1 mm, which provides an ideal platform for numerous detections by a single drop. The droplet transport strategy does not require external energy and can adapt to the manipulation of various droplet types. Application of this surface in the blood of organisms is demonstrated. This work provides an effective method for microdroplet-directed self-transport and microdroplet detection.
