title: Electrochemically actuated mercury pump for fluid flow and delivery.
abstract: This paper describes the development of a prototype pumping system with the potential for incorporation into miniaturized, fluid-based analytical instruments. The approach exploits the well-established electrocapillarity phenomena at a mercury/electrolyte interface as the mechanism for pump actuation. That is, electrochemically induced changes in the surface tension of mercury result in the pistonlike movement of a mercury column confined within a capillary. We present herein theoretical and experimental assessments of pump performance. The design and construction of the pump are detailed, and the potential attributes of this design, including the generated pumping pressure, flow rate, and power consumption, are discussed. The possible miniaturization of the pump for use as a field-deployable, fluid-delivery device is also briefly examined.
authors.affiliation: Microanalytical Instrumentation Center, USDOE, and Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Coldiron
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D004563:Electrochemistry; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry*; D008904:Miniaturization; D012212:Rheology; D013026:Space Flight / Q000295:instrumentation; D013500:Surface Tension; D014893:Weightlessness
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D008628:Mercury