Programmable and Unidirectional Liquid Self-Transport on Modular Fluidic Units.

Abstract

The precise control of liquids is essential for both organisms in harsh environments and human society. However, current nature-inspired fluidic systems, especially liquid self-transport on open-surfaces, lack programmability due to their inherent fixed structures, and freely integrating such interfaces remains challenging. Here, modular fluidic units (MFUs) enabling real-time reconfiguration of pathways through the simple assembly and disassembly of joint structures are presented. Continuous self-transport across discontinuous units is achieved by means of a water bridge induced unidirectional mechanism. Given the promoted transport performance, a series of functional devices are further developed in plane, including switchable flow distributor, stepwise liquid delivery, transport editing, and micro-reaction platform. These findings provide a facile yet efficient strategy to enable unidirectional self-transport, simultaneously enhancing the capability of pathway regulating and transport predicting, offering possibilities for future smart liquid manipulation on open-surfaces.