title: Remote Manipulation of a Microdroplet in Water by Near-Infrared Laser.
abstract: Facile manipulation of a tiny liquid droplet is an important but challenging issue for many miniaturized chemical and biological systems. Here we report that a microdroplet can be readily and remotely manipulated in aqueous environments under ambient conditions. The droplet is encapsulated with photothermal nanoparticles to form a liquid marble, and subsequently irradiated with a near-infrared (NIR) laser. The marble is able to ascend, shuttle, horizontally move, and even suspend in water by simply controlling the laser irradiation. Moreover, filling and draining of the marble can also be conducted on the water surface for the first time. This facile manipulation strategy does not use complicated nanostructures or sophisticated equipment, so it has potential applications for channel-free microfluidics, smart microreators, microengines, microrobots, and so on.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology , Harbin 150001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology , Harbin 150001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fatang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology , Harbin 150001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology , Harbin 150001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qinmin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Pan
keywords: NIR laser; liquid droplet; liquid marble; photothermal nanoparticles; remote manipulation