Programmable and Unidirectional Liquid Self‐Transport on Modular Fluidic Units

Abstract

The precise control of liquids is essential for both organisms in harsh environments and human society. However, current nature‐inspired fluidic systems, especially liquid self‐transport on open‐surfaces, lack programmability due to their inherent fixed structures, and freely integrating such interfaces remains challenging. Here, modular fluidic units (MFUs) enabling real‐time reconfiguration of pathways through the simple assembly and disassembly of joint structures are presented. Continuous self‐transport across discontinuous units is achieved by means of a water bridge induced unidirectional mechanism. Given the promoted transport performance, a series of functional devices are further developed in plane, including switchable flow distributor, stepwise liquid delivery, transport editing, and micro‐reaction platform. These findings provide a facile yet efficient strategy to enable unidirectional self‐transport, simultaneously enhancing the capability of pathway regulating and transport predicting, offering possibilities for future smart liquid manipulation on open‐surfaces.