Multibioinspired slippery surfaces with wettable bump arrays for droplets pumping.

ABSTRACT: Droplet manipulation is playing an important role in various fields, including scientific research, industrial production, and daily life. Here, inspired by the microstructures and functions of Namib desert beetles, Nepenthes pitcher plants, and emergent aquatic plants, we present a multibioinspired slippery surface for droplet manipulation by employing combined strategies of bottom-up colloidal self-assembly, top-down photolithography, and microstructured mold replication. The resultant multilayered hierarchical wettability surface consists of hollow hydrogel bump arrays and a lubricant-infused inverse opal film as the substrate. Based on capillary force, together with slippery properties of the substrate and wettability of the bump arrays, water droplets from all directions can be attrac

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6800372 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature