Optical Fluid Pump: Generation of Directional Flow via Microphase Segregation/Homogenization.

We report the successful generation of directional liquid-flow under stationary laser irradiation at a fixed position in a chamber. We adopt a homogeneous solution consisting of a mixture of water and triethylamine (TEA), with a composition near the critical point for phase segregation. When geometrical asymmetry is introduced around the laser focus in the chamber, continuous directional flow is generated, accompanied by the emergence of water-rich microdroplets at the laser focus. The emerging microdroplets tend to escape toward the surrounding bulk solution and then merge/annihilate into the homogeneous solution. The essential features of the directional flow are reproduced through a simple numerical simulation using fluid dynamic equations.