Porous materials are excellent for storing liquid used in energy and underground water storage and biomedical devices such as pregnancy or rapid virus tests. They easily absorb fluid, but don’t move fluid through as easily.
Now, James Friend and collaborators from around the globe have developed a device that uses sound waves to pump fluid through various types of porous materials. Friend is the Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at WashU McKelvey Engineering. Such a device could be used to deliver drugs efficiently, as a diagnostic device, in fuel cells and to filter and separate chemicals, among other uses.
Results of their research were published July 15 in Advanced Functional Materials.
Read more on the McKelvey Engineering website.
