Liquid dielectrophoresis is a bulk force acting on dipoles within a dielectric liquid inside a non-uniform electric field. When the driving electrodes are interdigitated, bulk liquid dielectrophoresis is converted to an interface-localised form capable of modifying the energy balance at an interface. When the interface is a solid-liquid one, the wetting properties of a surface are modified and this approach is known as dielectrowetting. Dielectrowetting has been shown to provide the ability to reversibly modify the contact angle of a liquid droplet with the application of voltage, the strength of which is controlled by the penetration depth of the non-uniform field and permittivities of the fluids involved. Importantly, dielectrowetting provides the ability to create thin liquid films, overcoming the limitation of contact angle saturation present in electrowetting. In this paper, we review the development of dielectrowetting - its origins, the statics and dynamics of dielectrowetted droplets, and the applications of dielectrowetting in microfluidics and optofluidics. Recent developments in the field are also reviewed showing the future directions of this rapidly developing field.

液体介电电泳是作用在非均匀电场内部介电液体中偶极子上的体积力。当驱动电极相互交叉时，本体液体介电电泳被转换成能够改变界面处的能量平衡的界面局部形式。当界面为固液界面时，表面的润湿特性会发生变化，这种方法称为介电润湿。介电润湿已显示出具有通过施加电压可逆地改变液滴的接触角的能力，该电压的强度由非均匀电场的穿透深度和所涉及的流体的介电常数控制。重要的是，介电润湿技术可以产生薄的液膜，克服电润湿中存在的接触角饱和度的限制。在本文中，我们回顾了介电润湿的发展-介电润湿的液滴的起源，静力学和动力学，以及介电润湿在微流控和光流控中的应用。还回顾了该领域的最新发展，显示了该快速发展领域的未来方向。