Bioinspired surfaces could lead to greener energy storage and much more

Manipulating the interface between liquid and air can lead to incredibly interesting properties and applications, such as ultraslippery surfaces or capturing water from fog. Much of the inspiration for such research comes from examples in nature, like how microstructures on a lotus leaf cause water to easily bead up and roll off. Zhang et al. described the theory, fabrication methods, properties, applications, and fundamental concepts behind these bioinspired surfaces.

With this comprehensive review, the team hopes to provide new strategies for researchers studying green energy, heat dissipation, and medicine, since regulating and understanding liquid/air interactions have led to many surprising and beneficial outcomes in these applications.

“Various attempts and explorations have been achieved surprising results in different applications for these bioinspired functional surfaces, such as wet attachments on wearable electronics, the self-lubrication or heat dissipation in mechanical equipment, and microfluidics for cell separation and manipulation,” co-author Huawei Chen said, adding that the review discusses the underlying mechanisms – fast spreading, directional transport, and interfacial forces – involved in these results. “This new mindset about liquid/air regulation system should be established for researchers in different fields.”

Chen said research enabled by a solid understanding of bioinspired surfaces could form the foundation of next-level electronics, such as iontronics and nanosensors.

The review also caters to researchers already in the field. For example, it could aid scientists interested in mimicking new or undiscovered microstructures in nature or studying interfacial interactions quantitatively and at multiple length scales.

Source: “Liquid/air dynamic behaviors and regulation mechanisms for bioinspired surface,” by Liwen Zhang, Yan Wang, Zelinlan Wang, Guang Liu, Yurun Guo, Xiaolin Liu, Deyuan Zhang, Lei Jiang, and Huawei Chen, Applied Physics Reviews (2022). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0102883 .