Micro‐/Nanostructured Interface for Liquid Manipulation and Its Applications

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2020-03, Vol.16 (9), p.e1903849-n/a
• Main Authors: Zuo, Yinxiu, Zheng, Liuzheng, Zhao, Chao, Liu, Hong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical materials; Construction materials; Corrosion prevention; Drag reduction; Environmental protection; Hydrophilicity; Hydrophobicity; liquid manipulation; liquid transportation; liquid wetting; micro‐/nanostructures; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; superhydrophilicity; superhydrophobicity; superolephobicity; superwettability; Wetting
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903849

Understanding the relationship between liquid manipulation and micro‐/nanostructured interfaces has gained much attention due to the wide potential applications in many fields, such as chemical and biomedical assays, environmental protection, industry, and even daily life. Much work has been done to construct various materials with interfacial liquid manipulation abilities, leading to a range of interesting applications. Herein, different fabrication methods from the top‐down approach to the bottom‐up approach and subsequent surface modifications of micro‐/nanostructured interfaces are first introduced. Then, interactions between the surface and liquid, including liquid wetting, liquid transportation, and a number of corresponding models, together with the definition of hydrophilic/hydrophobic, oleophilic/olephobic, the definition and mechanism of superwetting, including superhydrophobicity, superhydrophilicity, and superoleophobicity, are presented. The micro‐/nanostructured interface, with major applications in self‐cleaning, antifogging, anti‐icing, anticorrosion, drag‐reduction, oil–water separation, water collection, droplet (micro)array, and surface‐directed liquid transport, is summarized, and the mechanisms underlying each application are discussed. Finally, the remaining challenges and future perspectives in this area are included. Understanding the relationship between liquid manipulation and micro‐/nanostructured interfaces is important in many applications. Here, the relationship between liquid manipulation and micro‐/nanostructured interfaces, including liquid wetting and liquid transportation, is revealed. Their wide applications in self‐cleaning, antifogging, anti‐icing, anticorrosion, drag‐reduction, oil–water separation, water collection, droplet (micro)arrays, and surface‐directed liquid transport are presented.