Multifunctional superhydrophobic surface with dynamically controllable micro/nanostructures for droplet manipulation and friction control

Superhydrophobic surfaces with structure-dependent switchable wettability have recently drawn considerable attention due to their special applications in droplet manipulation, rewritable liquid patterns, friction control, etc. However, it still remains a great challenge for developing tunable superhydrophobic surfaces with multiple functions including friction control through a facile strategy. Here, we apply a templating approach to fabricate switchable superhydrophobic surfaces that can reversibly transit between high-adhesion superhydrophobic and hydrophobic states by dynamically controlling the morphology of the micro/nanostructures. Notably, due to the dynamically controllable micro/nanostructures and wettability, the superhydrophobic surface shows multiple functions. The superhydrophobic surface under different wetting states can serve as a droplet capturer or reaction platform to achieve droplet manipulation. Moreover, the friction coefficient of the superhydrophobic surface can be switched between similar to 0.4 and similar to 0.13, demonstrating the application potential in friction control. This work offers a promising multifunctional superhydrophobic platform with dynamically controllable morphology of micro/nanostructures and wetting behaviors for the applications of droplet manipulation and friction control.

Automated summary

In this study, a switchable superhydrophobic surface was fabricated using a templating approach to control the morphology of micro/nanostructures, enabling reversible transition between high-adhesion superhydrophobic and hydrophobic states. This surface demonstrates multiple functions, serving as a droplet capturer or reaction platform, and the friction coefficient can be switched, showing potential applications in friction control. This work provides a promising multifunctional superhydrophobic platform with dynamically controllable morphology and wetting behaviors for droplet manipulation and friction control applications.