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.
