High-Throughput Acoustofluidic Self-Assembly of Colloidal Crystals.

ABSTRACT: Colloidal crystals are encountered in a variety of energy-harvesting applications, where they serve as waveguides or filters for electromagnetic and electro-optic energy. Techniques such as electric or magnetic assembly are used to assemble colloidal crystals, but are limited by crystal size, yield, and throughput. This article demonstrates the continuous, high-throughput assembly of two-dimensional (2D)-colloidal crystals in an acoustofluidic flow cell. The device is fabricated using off-the-shelf components and does not require a clean-room access. An experimental state diagram shows how the fluid flow rate and voltage applied to the piezoelectric element in our device can tune the crystal microstructure. Highly ordered colloidal crystals are continuously assembled in less than a minute

SUBMITTER: Akella M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6641480 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature