RESUMO
Multiphase microfluidics enables an alternative approach with many possibilities in studying, analyzing, and manufacturing functional materials due to its numerous benefits over macroscale methods, such as its ultimate controllability, stability, heat and mass transfer capacity, etc. In addition to its immense potential in biomedical applications, multiphase microfluidics also offers new opportunities in various industrial practices including extraction, catalysis loading, and fabrication of ultralight materials. Herein, aiming to give preliminary guidance for researchers from different backgrounds, a comprehensive overview of the formation mechanism, fabrication methods, and emerging applications of multiphase microfluidics using different systems is provided. Finally, major challenges facing the field are illustrated while discussing potential prospects for future work.
RESUMO
In this work we developed a facile method to prepare water-oil Janus emulsions in situ with tunable morphologies by using a double-bore capillary microfluidic device. In addition, by combining the theory model and our liquids' properties, we propose a method to design the morphology of water-oil Janus emulsions. To systematically research Janus morphologies we combined the theory model and the fluids' properties. Under the model guidance, we carefully selected the liquids system where only the interfacial tension between the water phase and the continuous phase changed while keeping the other two interfacial tensions unchanged. Thus we could adjust the Janus morphology by changing the surfactant mass fraction in the continuous phase. In addition, with the double-bore capillary, we prepared water-oil Janus emulsions with a large flow ratio range. By adjusting the flow ratio and the surfactant mass fraction, we successfully prepared Janus emulsions with gradual morphology changes, which would be meaningful in fields that have a high demand for morphology designing of amphiphilic Janus particles.
RESUMO
By combining gravity and magnetic force, we have developed a versatile and facile microfluidic method for forming magnetic decentered core-shell microcapsules in which the directions of the oil core and the magnetic nanoparticles are either opposed or the same. When the temperature rises above the LCST of the PNIPAm, the shell shrinks rapidly and the core targets burst release towards the converse or the same direction as the magnet. By adjusting the direction of the magnet, the release direction of the active substance could be correspondingly accurately controlled.
