Diffusiophoresis, Diffusioosmosis, and Microfluidics: Surface-Flow-Driven Phenomena in the Presence of Flow

Diffusiophoresis is the spontaneous motion of particles under a concentration gradient of solutes. Since the first recognition by Derjaguin and colleagues in 1947 in the form of capillary osmosis, the phenomenon has been broadly investigated theoretically and experimentally. Early studies were mostly theoretical and were largely interested in surface coating applications, which considered the directional transport of coating particles. In the past decade, advances in microfluidics enabled controlled demonstrations of diffusiophoresis of micro- and nanoparticles. The electrokinetic nature and the typical scales of interest of the phenomenon motivated various experimental studies using simple microfluidic configurations. In this review, I will discuss studies that report diffusiophoresis in microfluidic systems, with the focus on the fundamental aspects of the reported results. In particular, parameters and influences of diffusiophoresis and diffusioosmosis in microfluidic systems and their combinations are highlighted.