KR20180035176A - Galvanic electroosmotic pump - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a non-powered self-driving electroosmotic pump. More specifically, the non-powered self-driving electroosmotic pump comprises: a fluid path unit through which a fluid moves; a membrane provided in the fluid path unit and made of a porous material to allow movement of the fluid; a reducing electrode which includes a first electrode material and which is provided on one side of the membrane; an oxidizing electrode which includes a second electrode material having a potential value lower than a potential value of the first electrode material and which is provided on the other side of the membrane; and at least one resistance provided in a connection circuit between the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode to determine the moving speed of the fluid. The fluid is moved by an electrochemical reaction of the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode.

Description

GALVANIC ELECTROOSMOTIC PUMP [0002]

The present invention relates to an electroosmotic pump, and more particularly, to an electroosmotic pump operable without supplying an external power source.

An electroosmotic pump is a pump that uses a fluid to move due to an electroosmosis phenomenon caused when a voltage is applied to an electrode provided at both ends of a capillary or a porous membrane (porous membrane). In order to move the fluid, applying a voltage can also increase the flow rate in proportion to the voltage applied to both ends.

Conventionally, a platinum electrode stable as an electrode material has been used. However, when a platinum electrode is used, there is a problem of stability due to generation of gas such as oxygen and hydrogen due to electrolysis of water when a voltage is applied. In order to solve this problem, silver (Ag ₂ O), MnO (OH) and polyaniline (PANI) have been used as electrode materials that can be stably driven by an electroosmosis pump without generating gas recently did. At this time, the basic structure of the electrode is a structure in which the above-mentioned material is coated by electrodeposition or the like on a porous electrode such as carbon paper or the like. In this case, the fluid is moved through the redox reaction of the materials coated on the electrode to generate the pumping force of the electroosmotic pump.

FIG. 1A shows an electroosmotic pump utilizing conventional silver (Ag) and silver oxide (Ag ₂ O) electrodes, and FIG. 1B shows a flow rate change according to voltage in the conventional electroosmotic pump of FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 1B, it can be seen that the conventional electroosmosis pump using silver (Ag) and silver oxide (Ag ₂ O) electrodes as electrodes at both ends increases the flow rate in proportion to the voltage. That is, the flow rate of the conventional electroosmotic pump increases in proportion to the applied voltage, and the flow of fluid does not occur when the voltage is not applied. That is, it is possible to drive the electroosmotic pump only when a voltage is applied from the outside.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an electro-osmotic pump which is self-driven without external power supply. It should be understood, however, that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described technical problems, and other technical problems may exist.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-power-driven electroosmotic pump according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a fluid path portion through which fluid flows; A membrane provided in the fluid path portion and formed of a porous material to allow movement of the fluid; A reducing electrode provided on one side of the membrane, the reducing electrode comprising a first electrode material; An oxidizing electrode provided on the other side of the membrane, the oxidizing electrode including a second electrode material having a potential value lower than a potential value of the first electrode material; And at least one resistance provided in a connection circuit between the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode to determine a moving speed of the fluid. The fluid is moved by the electrochemical reaction of the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode.

According to the present invention, there is provided an electroosmotic pump that can be driven without external power supply by moving a fluid through a spontaneous electrochemical reaction, and does not require a configuration for supplying power A micro electro osmotic pump can be realized.

FIG. 1A shows an electroosmotic pump utilizing conventional silver (Ag) and silver oxide (Ag ₂ O) electrodes, and FIG. 1B shows a flow rate change according to voltage in the conventional electroosmotic pump of FIG. 1A.
FIG. 2A shows a configuration of a non-powered self-propelled electric osmotic pump according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2B illustrates an example in which two resistors are connected in parallel to both electrodes of a non-powered self-propelled pump according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a switch is provided on one side of each of the resistors.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a non-power-driven electroosmotic pump manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing voltage changes after connecting resistances of 10 k? And 50 k? And 100 k? To the electro-osmotic pump of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a graph showing changes in fluid velocity after connecting resistances of 10 k? And 50 k? And 100 k? To the electroosmotic pump of FIG.
FIG. 6 shows experimental results for confirming the sustainability of the electropneumatic self-propelled osmotic pump according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show the results of moving the fluid with different resistances from the reducing electrode in the electroosmotic pump of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

In the entire specification of the present invention, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it is not necessarily the case that it is "directly connected", but also "electrically connected" .

In the entire specification of the present invention, when a member is located on another member, this includes not only a case where a member is in contact with another member but also a case where another member exists between the two members.

Throughout the specification of the present invention, when a part is referred to as "including " an element, it is understood that it may include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms "about "," substantially ", etc. used to the extent that they are used throughout the present disclosure are used in their numerical value or in close proximity to their numerical values when the manufacturing and material tolerances inherent in the stated meanings are presented, Accurate or absolute numbers are used to prevent unauthorized exploitation by unauthorized intruders of the referenced disclosure. The word " step (or step) "or" step "used in the specification of the present invention does not mean" step for.

FIG. 2A shows a configuration of a non-powered self-propelled electric osmotic pump 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A, a non-powered self-propelled osmotic pump 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a membrane 11, an oxidizing electrode 12, a reducing electrode 13, at least one resistance 14, And a fluid path portion 16. In addition, the non-powered self-priming pump 10 may further include at least one switch 15.

The membrane 11 is provided in the fluid path portion 16 through which the fluid moves, and is formed into a porous material or structure to allow movement of the fluid. Illustratively, the membrane 11 may be fabricated using, but not limited to, silica, glass, or the like, having the form of a particulate material having a size of from about 0.1 μm to about 5 μm. Further, by way of example, the membrane 11 may be a disk membrane, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), or may have various types of porous materials or structures. In addition, the membrane 11 may permit movement of ions as well as fluids.

The reducing electrode 13 is provided on one side of the membrane 11 and the oxidizing electrode 12 is provided on the other side of the membrane 11. At this time, the oxidizing electrode 12 and the reducing electrode 13 may be formed of a porous material allowing the fluid to move. Illustratively, the oxidizing electrode 12 and the reducing electrode 13 may be formed of porous carbon. The porous carbon may include, by way of non-limiting example, carbon nanotube (CNT), graphene, carbon nanoparticle, fullerene, graphite, But is not limited thereto. That is, the oxidizing electrode 12 may be a porous carbon anode formed of porous carbon, and the reducing electrode 13 may be a porous carbon cathode formed of porous carbon.

At this time, the oxidation electrode 12 and the reduction electrode 13 may be coated with a material used for the primary battery by plating or the like. Illustratively, the oxidation electrode 12 is coated with a material having a potential value lower than the potential value of the electrode material of the reduction electrode 13. The material to be coated on the reducing electrode 13 may be selected from the group consisting of silver (Ag) / silver oxide (Ag 2 O), manganese (Mn) / manganese oxide (MnO 2) and lead (Pb) / lead oxide (PbO 2) Or the like. The material to be plated on the oxidation electrode 12 may include at least one of zinc (Zn) and zinc oxide (ZnO) having a lower potential value than the above-mentioned material. That is, the oxidizing electrode 12 is formed of an electrode material having a lower potential value than the reducing electrode 13 (for example, the electrode material in which the standard electrode potential is included in the negative direction) A spontaneous electrochemical reaction (i.e., an electrode reaction) as in the case of a secondary battery can be generated. The electroless self-driven electroosmotic pump 10 moves fluid and / or ions along the fluid path portion 16 based on this spontaneous electrochemical reaction. The oxidizing electrode 12 and the reducing electrode 13 are disposed on both sides of the membrane 11 so that the oxidizing electrode 12 and the reducing electrode 13 can be maintained at a constant interval by the membrane 11.

Since the oxidizing electrode 12 and the reducing electrode 13 are formed of materials having different potential values, spontaneous electrochemical reactions such as the primary cell are generated, while the porous electrode is formed of porous carbon, .

The resistor 14 is provided in a connection circuit connected to the oxidation electrode 12 and the reduction electrode 13, respectively, to determine the flow rate of the fluid. The resistor 14 may be provided to move the fluid at a predetermined flow rate and / or at a rate arbitrarily selected by the user. At this time, the magnitude of the resistance 14 applied to the electrodes 12 and 13 can be set at the manufacturing stage based on the resistance value of the membrane 11 and the speed of the target fluid, and the speed of the target fluid is changed . ≪ / RTI > Also, the resistor 14 can be allowed or disconnected from both the electrodes 12 and 13 depending on the state of the switch 15 provided in the connection circuit.

The switch 15 is provided in the connection circuit to allow or cut off the connection between the resistor 14 and the electrodes 12 and 13.

On the other hand, when the non-power source-driven electroosmotic pump 10 includes a plurality of resistors, a plurality of resistors may be connected in parallel to the electrodes 12 and 13. At this time, a plurality of switches may be provided on one side of each resistor, which can connect or disconnect the corresponding resistor with the electrodes 12 and 13. Therefore, the magnitude of the resistance applied to the electrodes 12 and 13 can be varied as the switches corresponding to the respective resistors are turned on and off.

2B shows an example in which two resistors 14a and 14b are connected in parallel to the electrodes 12 and 13 and switches 15a and 15b are provided on one side of the resistors 14a and 14b. The two switches 15a and 15b are independently turned on and off so that the resistance applied to both electrodes 12 and 13 is determined by the resistance value of the first resistor 14a and the resistance value of the second resistor 14b, (14a, 14b).

Meanwhile, the electropneumatic self-propelled pump 10 according to one embodiment may be formed in the form of a disk (disk) or a circular ring, and may be formed by being coupled in the form of a circular tube, It is not. In addition, the non-power-source-driven electric osmotic pump 10 of the present invention can be realized in a very small size by not including a battery or the like for supplying power to both electrodes 12 and 13.

Hereinafter, application examples of a non-power-driven electroosmosis pump manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a non-powered self-propelled electric osmotic pump 10a manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 3, a disc membrane formed of silica was used, with the disc membrane having a diameter of 8 mm, a thickness of 2 mm and a porous body of 50%. Meanwhile, in FIG. 3, the voltage and flow rate results of the electrochemical reaction of the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode were measured by a method of directly connecting or disconnecting a resistor to the electroosmotic pump instead of the switch.

At this time, zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) were plated at 0.96C and 0.22C, respectively, and silver (Ag) and silver oxide (Ag2O) were plated at 1.3C. At this time, the electrochemical reaction (that is, the electrode reaction) of the oxidation electrode formed of zinc (Zn) and zinc oxide (ZnO) appears as shown in the following reaction formula 1, and the potential value E0 is -0.76 V.

<Reaction Scheme 1>

The electrochemical reaction of the reducing electrode formed of silver and silver oxide appears as shown in the following reaction formula 2, and the potential value E0 is +0.410 V.

<Reaction Scheme 2>

Therefore, the electromotive force of the electroosmotic pump 10a of FIG. 3 is about 1.17V (i.e., a result value of (+0.41 - (-0.76))). However, due to the overvoltage and the resistance of the fluid due to the electrochemical reaction, the actual electromotive force may be smaller than the above value.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a voltage change after connecting resistances of 10 k ?, 50 k? And 100 k? To the electro-osmotic pump 10a of FIG. 3, (Flow rate) of the fluid after connecting resistances of 10 k? And 50 k? And 100 k ?, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 4, the voltage of the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode is close to about 0.4 V at a resistance of 10 k?, Close to about 1.0 V at a resistance of 50 k ?, and close to 1.2 V at a resistance of 100 k ?. That is, as the magnitude of the resistance increases, the magnitude of the voltage increases and it becomes closer to the electromotive force of the electroosmotic pump 10a of FIG.

Also, referring to FIG. 5, the flow rate sharply decreased from about 8 μL / min to about 2 μL / min at a resistance of 10 kΩ (shown by the long dashed line) Min to about 2 μL / min at 4 μL / min and about 2 μL / min at a resistance of 100 kΩ (shown as line). That is, as the magnitude of the resistance increases, the magnitude of the voltage increases, but the current decreases and the flow rate decreases. As the resistance increases, it can be seen that the flow rate of the constant size stably continues from the beginning.

FIG. 6 shows experimental results for confirming the sustainability of the electropneumatic self-propelled osmotic pump according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, a resistance of 100 k? Is connected to the electroosmotic pump 10a of FIG. 3, and then a change in flow rate for about 11 hours is observed. Referring to the graph of FIG. 6, a flow rate of about 2 μL / min was stably maintained for about 10 hours, and a total of 1.3 mL of fluid was pumped.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the results of moving the fluid with different resistances from the reducing electrode in the electroosmotic pump of FIG.

In Fig. 7, a reducing electrode coated with 0.26C of manganese oxide (MnO2) was used. Accordingly, the electrochemical reaction of the reducing electrode including manganese oxide appears as shown in the following reaction formula (3), and the potential value (E0) is +0.610V.

<Reaction Scheme 3>

The electromotive force of the electroosmotic pump 10b of Fig. 7 is about 1.38 V (i.e., (+0.61 - (-0.76))). However, due to the overvoltage and the resistance of the fluid to the electrochemical reaction, the actual electromotive force may be lower than the above value.

On the other hand, a resistance of 10 k? Is connected to both electrodes of the electroosmotic pump 10b of Fig.

Referring to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the flow rate rapidly decreases from about 7 μL / min to 2 μL / min with time. However, unlike the case where a resistance of 10 k? Is connected to the electro-osmotic pump 10 a of FIG. 3, the initial flow rate reaches about 7 μL / min, and a total of about 200 μL of fluid was transferred for about 1 hour can confirm.

In Fig. 8, a reducing electrode plated with 1.5 C of lead oxide (PbO2) was used. Accordingly, the electrochemical reaction of the reducing electrode containing lead oxide is shown in the following reaction formula (4), and the potential value (E0) is +1.468 V.

<Reaction Scheme 4>

The electromotive force of the electroosmotic pump 10c of FIG. 8 is about 2.23 V (i.e., a result value of +1.468 - (-0.76)). However, due to the overvoltage and the resistance of the fluid to the electrochemical reaction, the actual electromotive force may be lower than the above value.

On the other hand, a resistance of 200 k? Is connected to both electrodes of the electroosmotic pump 10c of Fig.

Referring to FIG. 8, the flow rate is reduced from about 2.5 μL / min to about 0.5 μL / min, but this change in velocity appears over about 70 hours. In addition, the electroosmotic pump 10c of Fig. 8 moved a total of 5.5 mL of fluid. That is, through the electroosmotic pump 10c of FIG. 8, it can be seen that the electropneumatic self-propelled osmotic pump 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be continuously driven with a stable voltage for a long period of time.

As described above, since the electropneumatic self-propelled pump according to the embodiment of the present invention induces spontaneous electrochemical reaction of both electrodes, the voltage can be maintained in the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode itself, . Furthermore, the non-powered self-propelled electric osmotic pump according to an embodiment of the present invention adjusts the magnitude of the resistance applied to both electrodes, thereby adjusting the moving speed of the fluid and the moving amount of the fluid.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

11: Membrane
12: oxidized electrode
13: reduction electrode
14: resistance
15: Switch
16:

Claims (12)

1. A non-powered self-propelled electric osmotic pump,
A fluid path portion through which the fluid moves;
A membrane provided in the fluid path portion and formed of a porous material to allow movement of the fluid;
A reducing electrode provided on one side of the membrane, the reducing electrode comprising a first electrode material;
An oxidizing electrode disposed on the other side of the membrane, the oxidizing electrode including a second electrode material having a potential value lower than the potential of the first electrode material;
At least one resistance provided in a connection circuit between the oxidation electrode and the reduction electrode, the resistance determining the movement speed of the fluid; And
The fluid
Wherein the electrode is moved by an electrochemical reaction between the oxidation electrode and the reduction electrode. The method according to claim 1,
The at least one resistor
Wherein the magnitude of the magnitude is varied based on the resistance value of the membrane and the target flow rate. 3. The method of claim 2,
Further comprising one or more switches provided in the connection circuit to allow or block the connection between the oxidation electrode and the reduction electrode and each resistor. The method of claim 3,
Comprising a plurality of resistors,
Wherein the plurality of resistors are connected in parallel to the reduction electrode and the oxidation electrode. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein a switch is provided on one side of each of the plurality of resistors. 6. The method of claim 5,
The magnitude of the resistance applied to the reduction electrode and the oxidation electrode is
Wherein the switches corresponding to the respective resistors are varied as they are turned on and off. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the oxidation electrode is a positive electrode formed of porous carbon, and the second electrode material is coated. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the reducing electrode is a cathode formed of porous carbon, and the first electrode material is coated. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first electrode material comprises at least one of silver oxide (Ag2O), manganese oxide (MnO2), and lead oxide (PbO2). The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second electrode material comprises at least one of zinc (Zn), zinc oxide (ZnO), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), and lead (Pb). 1. A non-powered self-propelled electric osmotic pump,
A fluid path portion through which the fluid moves;
A membrane provided in the fluid path portion and formed of a porous material to allow movement of the fluid;
A reducing electrode provided on one side of the membrane, the reducing electrode comprising a first electrode material; And
And an oxidizing electrode provided on the other side of the membrane and including a second electrode material having a potential value lower than a potential value of the first electrode material,
The fluid
Wherein the electrode is moved by an electrochemical reaction between the oxidation electrode and the reduction electrode. 12. The method of claim 11,
The non-powered self-propelled osmotic pump
Further comprising one or more resistances and one or more switches in a connection circuit between the oxidizing electrode and the reducing electrode to determine a moving speed of the fluid.

Images