Acoustic microfluidics for colloidal materials and interface engineering

The advent of microfluidic and microfabrication technologies provides vast opportunities for the rational design of colloidal materials and interfaces. However, the development of microscale lab-on-a-chip solutions is greatly limited by the lack of flexible control and intensive process kinetics. The integration of acoustics and microfluidics provides tremendous opportunities to manipulate fluids for the spatiotemporal control of engineering applications. In this perspective, we discuss the utility of acoustic microfluidics as an emerging tool for colloidal materials and interface engineering. We outline the underlying principles involved in acoustic microfluidics, assess the achievements and shortcomings of efforts so far in the field, and then highlight the bottlenecks that hinder the practical implementations of acoustic microfluidics from the viewpoints of both academic and industrial applications. We further provide our perspectives toward future research to develop advanced materials and interface systems using acoustic on-chip devices.