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Induced Charge Electro-osmosis over Controllably Contaminated Electrodes

Andrew J. Pascall and Todd M. Squires
Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 088301 – Published 22 February 2010
Physics logo See Viewpoint: Clean data with dirty surfaces in electrokinetics
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Abstract

Recent studies in nonlinear electrokinetics reveal the standard theory to generally overpredict measured velocities, sometimes dramatically. Contamination of the driving surface provides a natural mechanism for electrokinetic suppression. We measure induced charge electro-osmosis over gold electrodes “contaminated” with silica layers of controlled thickness for nearly a thousand distinct conditions, in a system that enables direct comparisons between theoretical predictions and experimental measurements. Both the magnitude and frequency dependence of the measured slip velocity are captured quantitatively over the entire range of experiments by accounting for the physical capacitance and surface chemistry of the dielectric layer. More generally, the quantitative characterization enabled by our apparatus will prove invaluable for the rational design and prediction of electrokinetic systems.

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  • Received 15 September 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.088301

©2010 American Physical Society

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Clean data with dirty surfaces in electrokinetics

Published 22 February 2010

Experiments now quantitatively confirm the standard model of electrokinetics, in which electric fields drive the flow of electrolytes, potentially leading to better sensors and biomedical diagnostic devices.

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Authors & Affiliations

Andrew J. Pascall and Todd M. Squires

  • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA

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Vol. 104, Iss. 8 — 26 February 2010

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