Effects of Nanostructured Surfaces on Electro-osmotic Flow

Electro-osmotic flow (EOF) is the flow of fluid in a microchannel which is induced by an external elec-tric field. EOF originates from electrical double layer (EDL) formed spontaneously at the channel-fluid interface. The electrostatic potential at the channel wall is called the zeta potential. Nanostructures have been employed in microfluidic channels for electrophoretic separation of biomolecules [1] and catalytic reaction which yields higher reaction efficiency due to the increased surface area [2]. Howev-er, the effect of nanostructured surfaces on EOF has yet to be fully understood. In this preliminary investigation, we demonstrate experimentally that the presence of nanostructured surfaces affects EOF significantly. Accepted version