Electrohydrodynamic properties of gold surfaces in micro- and nanofluidic structures : Worth its weight or superficial glitter?

This work investigates the influence of gold surfaces micro-and nanofluidic structures. A microfluidic electroosmotic flow pump with an embedded gold surface is manufactured. The fluid flow is characterized with the Current Measurement Method (CCM) and Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV). Additionally, a nanofluidic current rectifier with a glass-gold junction is fabricated. The current rectifier is characterized with Impedance Spectroscopy and a theoretical description of the observed phenomena is given. The surface charge of the gold is capacitively controlled, using a novel approach. The gold surfaces in the channels are connected to large gold areas, or “flaps”, outside the channels so that the required potentials to charge these flaps can be dramatically reduced.