Bioinspired multiscale surfaces with special wettability
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Introduction Biological systems in nature have achieved various intelligent processes and properties during the long course of evolution, and several of these have inspired the development of functional materials.1 A fundamental and important property is wettability, which provides many unique functions for biological systems.2,3 Examples include the self-cleaning property of lotus leaves,4 the superior water-walking ability of water striders,5 the directional adhesion of butterfly wings,6 the antifogging functionality of mosquito eyes,7 the antireflection of superhydrophobic cicada wings,8 water collection observed in the desert beetle,9 spider silk, and cactus,10,11 as well as the self-cleaning ability of fish scales.12 Recent biomimetic studies reveal that the cooperation of unique multiscale structures of biological surfaces with intrinsic materials properties plays a crucial role in achieving the desired wettability and other functionalities.13 These versatile biological surfaces have further inspired people to design and create novel interfacial materials with special wettability properties, such as superantiwetting surfaces—superhydrophobic (surfaces with water contact angles larger than 150°) and superamphiphobic (surfaces with water and oil contact angles larger than 150°) surfaces in air and superoleophobic (surfaces with oil contact angles larger than 150°) interfaces in water—smart switchable surfaces, and water collecting surfaces.14–16 To date, bioinspired surfaces with special wettability have been widely studied and have attracted a broad range of
researchers. The design of bioinspired surfaces typically involves five steps: (1) discovery of a unique wetting phenomenon in nature; (2) illustration of the correlation between multiscale structures and wettability; (3) design and synthesis of functional molecules; (4) design of heterogeneous and multiscale interfaces; and (5) fabrication of a cooperative complementary interface via weak interactions and bi-stable states.1,13 Based on these principles, we can mimic the special wettability of biological surfaces and design corresponding smart interfacial materials. Finally, we might eventually exceed nature in some aspects. In this review, we primarily discuss the rational design of bioinspired multiscale surfaces with special wettability, from natural to artificial, from tri-phase systems to multi-phase systems, and from 2D systems to 1D systems. Examples of unique wetting phenomena in nature and correlated structure effect models are presented. Recent progress in wettability of 1D systems such as fibers and ion channels will also be discussed.
Special wettability in biological systems With the discovery of unique wetting phenomena in nature, the field of wettability has been greatly broadened, from air/ liquid/solid systems (liquid wettability on a solid surface in air) to liquid/liquid/solid systems (liquid wettability on a solid surface in a liquid), and from 2D surfaces to 1D fibers and
Mingjie Liu, The Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
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