Electroosmotic Pump Using a Glass Fiber Filter for High Flow Rate Water Transport

The design, fabrication, and evaluation of an electroosmotic pump (EOP) for high flow rate water transport is reported in this paper. Using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as a substrate and using mainly thermal processing enables simple low-cost fabrication. The placement of a glass fiber filter in the main channel immensely increases the contact surface between water and glass, which, together with the associated high zeta potentials, significantly boosts the EOP efficiency. Therefore, our microfluidic pump can achieve both high flow rates and high pressures. With the application of two gas permeable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes, oxygen and hydrogen caused by spurious electrolysis are easily removed from the system. Moreover, highly chemically inert platinum wires are used as electrodes, furthering the durability of the pump.