Recent advancement in induced-charge electrokinetic phenomena and their micro- and nano-fluidic applications

Abstract

Induced-charge electrokinetics (ICEK) remains a hot topic due to its promising applications in micro- and nano-fluidics. Over the past decade, researchers have made a great advancement in both fundamental studies and application developments. They captured (I) a flow reversal in induced-charge electroosmosis (ICEO) and attributed it to the phase delay effect of ions, (II) a chaotic ICEO and attributed it to the concentration polarization in the bulk solution, (III) a non-quadratic correlation for ICEO of non-Newtonian fluids and attributed it to the power-law viscosity, (IV) an induced-charge electrophoretic (ICEP) rotation of Janus doublets, etc. Furthermore, various ICEK-based micro- and nano-fluidic devices have been developed, namely, micropumps, particle focusers, trappers, sorters, and nanopore ion diodes. The present article provides a comprehensive review on the recent advancement of ICEK. Firstly, the fundamental studies of ICEK are introduced; then the micro- and nano-fluidic applications based on ICEK are presented; lastly, promising future directions for both fundamental and applications are discussed. This review presents the basic framework of ICEK, and can facilitate the development of ICEK-based applications.