Influence of Surface Texture on the Variation of Electrokinetic Streaming Potentials

The electrokinetic streaming potential (V_s) obtained through electrolyte flow in a microchannel is shown to be related to the underlying surface pattern. Pillar, mesh, and groove patterns were studied for comparing the relative magnitudes of the V_s with air-/liquid-filled surfaces. A record value of the related figure of merit, in terms of the developed V_s per-unit applied pressure, of ∼0.127 mV/Pa, was observed in a mesh texture liquid-filled surface (LFS) impregnated with an electrolyte-immiscible oil. The study indicated that increasing the solid fraction of the pattern surface decreases the effective slip length while enhancing the overall channel ζ potential. Consequently, maximizing the obtained V_s implies a balancing of the slip with the surface potential, with plausibly more significance of the latter. The work has implications for higher-efficiency electrical voltage sources.