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Updated: Jan 15, 2026

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Liquid-Diode Microtubes Sculpted by Dissolution.

Xudong Chen1,2, Quanzi Yuan1,2

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|October 10, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Engineered microtubes create a liquid diode effect for controlled, one-way liquid transport in confined spaces. This innovation shows promise for industrial applications like oil-water separation.

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Microfluidics

Background:

  • Directional liquid transport is crucial for microfluidics, biomedical engineering, and energy conservation.
  • Achieving diode-like liquid transport in enclosed spaces remains a significant challenge despite advances in open surface manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a novel liquid-diode microtube for directional liquid transport in confined spaces.
  • To demonstrate the potential of these microtubes for industrial oil-water separation.

Main Methods:

  • Microtubes were fabricated with gradient ratchet structures on the inner wall, induced by interfacial instability during dissolution.
  • The directional transport was achieved by controlling asymmetric pinning and Laplace pressure effects.
Keywords:
contact line instabilitydirectional liquid transportdissolutionoil−water separationratchet structure

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Main Results:

  • The developed microtubes exhibit selective, directional liquid transport in closed channels.
  • Liquid diodes were successfully assembled into units with opposing directions for oil-water separation.

Conclusions:

  • Dissolution-sculpted liquid-diode microtubes enable passive, directional liquid transport.
  • This technology holds potential for advancing industrial oil-water separation processes.