A study of molecular diffusion across a water/oil interface in a Y-Y shaped microfluidic device

Abstract

The diffusion behaviour of Co(II) ion in an aqueous homogeneous system and that of 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ) in a heterogeneous liquid-liquid system was measured in a Y-Y shaped microfluidic device. We propose a modified version of a previously published equation for a static system to describe the diffusion behaviour of chemical species in this microfluidic device. Specific adaptations of the original equation to the micro environment are illustrated and discussed. The model proposed successfully fitted the diffusion of Co(II) in a homogeneous system (aqueous solutions) and 8HQ across a water/oil interface. We envisage the application of the proposed equation for the discrimination of the di..