Bioinspired Superwettability Micro/Nanoarchitectures: Fabrications and Applications

Biological systems have evolved over billions of years to develop wetting strategies for advantageous structure-property-performance relations that are crucial for their survival. The discovery of these intriguing relationships has inspired tremendous efforts to investigate the micro/nanoscale features of naturally occurring structures with superwettability. Researchers have since developed new methods and techniques to construct artificial materials that mimic natural structures and functionalities. Here, a brief review of natural hierarchical architectures with liquid repellent properties is presented, and the critical underlying mechanism is summarized with an emphasis on the micro/nanoscopic architectures. The state-of-the-art micro/nanofabrication techniques for creating bioinspired hierarchical superwettability structures that are categorized by random and exquisite features are also reviewed, followed by an overview of their emerging applications, with special attention to biomedical-related fields. The development of fabrication techniques enhances capabilities relative to those of living systems, paving the way toward advanced structural materials with superior functions and unprecedented characteristics for potential applications.