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Understanding and controlling multiphase fluid transport across complex interfaces remain central challenges in both natural and engineered systems. This study investigates gradient-regulated interfacial behavior and multiphase transport governed by two distinct driving modes: internal gradients, such as geometric and wettability variations that require no external energy input, and external gradients, exemplified by electric fields that supply energy to actively modify interfacial interactions. By integrating findings from bioinspired gradient surfaces and electric-field–driven subsurface systems, this work establishes a unified framework for understanding how to regulate interfacial transport phenomena using different types of gradients.
In nature, hierarchical structures such as cactus spines, nepenthes peristomes, and desert beetles utilize intrinsic gradients to achieve efficient and directional water transport. Inspired by these biological systems, we designed a multi-gradient serial-wedge-shaped groove (MG-SWSG) that combines geometric and wettability gradients to sustain continuous, high-speed droplet motion. Molecular dynamics simulations and free-energy analyses reveal that these coupled gradients fundamentally reshape the interfacial energy landscape, eliminating junction-induced barriers and maintaining thermodynamically favorable motion. Compared with conventional single-gradient designs, the MG-SWSG achieves up to a sixfold increase in transport distance and a 154% enhancement in velocity, demonstrating the effectiveness of internal gradient regulation for self-driven interfacial flow.
This study further extends the concept of gradient regulation to external fields, focusing on electric-field modulation of CO2–H2O behavior in porous media. Molecular simulations and mechanistic analyses show that electric fields reorient water dipoles and reorganize hydrogen-bond networks, thereby enhancing CO2 dissolution, adsorption, and injectivity. In deep saline aquifers, perpendicular electric fields reduce injection pressure by up to 40% and increase CO₂ solubility by approximately 20%, offering a new strategy for improving the efficiency and safety of geological CO2 storage.
Together, these results demonstrate that both internal gradients and external fields serve as complementary modes of interfacial regulation. Internal gradients rely on the intrinsic heterogeneity of surfaces to drive passive, energy-free transport, whereas external gradients actively provide energy to overcome interfacial energy barriers and reconfigure fluid–solid interactions. This unified framework enhances the understanding of gradient-driven multiphase transport mechanisms and provides theoretical guidance for designing energy-efficient systems for subsurface fluid management, CO2 sequestration, and microfluidic applications.
| Country | China |
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