Liquid repellency enhancement through flexible microstructures
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Artificial liquid-repellent surfaces have attracted substantial scientific and industrial attention with a focus on creating functional topological features; however, the role of the underlying structures has been overlooked. Recent developments in micro-nanofabrication allow us now to construct a skin-muscle type system combining interfacial liquid repellence atop a mechanically functional structure. Specifically, we design surfaces comprising bioinspired, mushroom-like repelling heads and spring-like flexible supports, which are realized by three-dimensional direct laser lithography. The flexible supports elevate liquid repellency by resisting droplet impalement and reducing contact time. This, previously unknown, use of spring-like flexible supports to enhance liquid repellency provides an excellent level of control over droplet manipulation. Moreover, this extends repellent microstructure research from statics to dynamics and is envisioned to yield functionalities and possibilities by linking functional surfaces and mechanical metamaterials.
Date Issued
2020-08
Date Acceptance
2020-06-18
Citation
Science Advances, 2020, 6 (32), pp.1-7
ISSN
2375-2548
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Start Page
1
End Page
7
Journal / Book Title
Science Advances
Volume
6
Issue
32
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/32/eaba9721
Grant Number
EP/N025954/1
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2020-08-05