Artificial surfaces that can repel liquids have attracted significant attention across scientific and industrial platforms to create functional topological features. But the role of the underlying structures that are in contact with liquid droplets is not well understood. Recent developments in micro-nanofabrication can allow researchers to construct a skin-muscle-like system that combines liquid repellence at the interface, alongside a mechanically functional structure. In a new report now published in Science Advances, Songtao Hu and a team of interdisciplinary scientists in China, Switzerland and the U.K., designed bioinspired surfaces with mushroom-like repellent heads using three-dimensional (3-D) direct laser lithography. The flexible, spring-like supports elevated liquid repellence by resisting complex forms of droplet breakdown and reducing droplet-surface contact time. The use of spring-like flexible supports is an unprecedented materials research approach that enhanced liquid repellence for excellent surface control and droplet manipulation. The work extended research on repellent microstructures to yield functional possibilities by linking functional surfaces with mechanical metamaterials.
Click here for original story, Enhanced liquid repellence through flexible microstructures
Source: Phys.org