Self-Powered Triboelectric Micro Liquid/Gas Flow Sensor for Microfluidics.

Chen, Jie; Guo, Hengyu; Zheng, Jiangeng; Huang, Yingzhou; Liu, Guanlin; Hu, Chenguo; Wang, Zhong Lin · ACS Nano · 2016

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Liquid and gas flow sensors are important components of the micro total analysis systems (μTAS) for modern analytical sciences. In this paper, we proposed a self-powered triboelectric microfluidic sensor (TMS) by utilizing the signals produced from the droplet/bubble via the capillary and the triboelectrification effects on the liquid/solid interface for real-time liquid and gas flow detection. By alternating capillary with different diameters, the sensor's detecting range and sensitivity can be adjusted. Both the relationship between the droplet/bubble and capillary size, and the output signal of the sensor are systematically studied. By demonstrating the monitoring of the transfusion process for a patient and the gas flow produced from an injector, it shows that TMS has a great potential in building a self-powered micro total analysis system.