High-performance unidirectional manipulation of microdroplets by horizontal vibration on femtosecond laser-induced slant microwall arrays

The high-performance unidirectional manipulation of microdroplets is crucial for many vital applications including water collection and bioanalysis. Among several actuation methods (e.g., electric, magnetic, light, and thermal actuation), mechanical vibration is pollution-free and biocompatible. However, it suffers from limited droplet movement mode, small volume range (V_Max/V_Min < 3), and low transport velocity (≤11.5 mm s⁻¹) because the droplet motion is a sliding state caused by the vertical vibration on the asymmetric hydrophobic microstructures. Here, an alternative strategy is proposed—horizontal vibration for multimode (rolling, bouncing/reverse bouncing, converging/diffusing, climbing, 90^o turning, and sequential transport), large-volume-range (V_Max/V_Min ≈ 100), and high-speed (≈22.86 mm s⁻¹) unidirectional microdroplet manipulation, which is ascribed to the rolling state on superhydrophobic slant microwall arrays (SMWAs) fabricated by the one-step femtosecond laser oblique ablation. The unidirectional transport mechanism relies on the variance of viscous resistance induced by the difference of contact area between the microdroplet and the slant microwalls. Furthermore, a circular, curved, and “L”-shaped SMWA is designed and fabricated for droplet motion with particular paths. Finally, sequential transport of large-volume-range droplets and chemical mixing microreaction of water-based droplets are demonstrated on the SMWA, which demonstrates the great potential in the field of microdroplet manipulation.