On the Gating Mechanism of Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Membranes

Abstract

Slippery liquid infused porous surfaces owe some of their remarkable properties such as low fouling, multiphase transport without clogging, and self‐healing to the presence of liquid lined pores. In this paper, the gating mechanism of liquid infiltrated porous membranes is investigated. The liquid film thickness lining the pores is experimentally obtained and correlated to annular two phase flow models.

Liquid gating elastomeric porous system with dynamically controllable gas/liquid transport

“…For the gas or liquid passing through the porous membrane, the transmembrane pressure Δ P will also depend on the flow rate Q by the Darcy’s law ( 21 , 44 – 46 ) where A and h represent the area and thickness, respectively, of the porous membrane, μ is the viscosity of the liquid, and k is the permeability of the porous membrane. k is interpreted as ( 21 , 44 , 45 , 47 ) where Φ is the porosity, γ is the liquid-gas surface tension when transporting gas or liquid-liquid surface tension when transporting liquid through the LGEPM, d is the average pore size, and σ is the SD of distributed pore sizes in the membrane.…”

Application of liquid-infused membranes to mitigate biofouling

“…Once the liquid-filled pores are opened, a thin layer of the infusion liquid will remain on the pore wall leading to the formation of so-called liquid-lined pores. 28,29 The presence of liquid-lining prevents the direct contact between the Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology Paper permeating fluid and solid material of the pore wall. 33 The mobility of the liquid molecules on the pore wall can inhibit the permanent interaction with the microorganism in the permeating fluid, thus reducing the biological adhesion.…”

“…23 Porous polymeric membranes with low surface energies, which are typically prepared from fluorinated polymers such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), can be used. [26][27][28] The liquid-infused pore acts like a gate which can open and close in response to the immiscible feed fluid pressure. 26 In the open state, the pore wall is still covered with the infusion liquid forming liquid-lined pores.…”

“…26 In the open state, the pore wall is still covered with the infusion liquid forming liquid-lined pores. 26,28,29 The gating mechanism was previously explored by pushing nitrogen gas through liquid-infused pores. 28 The liquid film thickness on the pore wall (liquid-lining) was estimated experimentally and theoretically.…”

“…26,28,29 The gating mechanism was previously explored by pushing nitrogen gas through liquid-infused pores. 28 The liquid film thickness on the pore wall (liquid-lining) was estimated experimentally and theoretically. The presence of liquid-lining was further studied when water was pushed through via liquid-liquid displacement porometry (LLDP).…”