Hsu, C.-N.; Mai, N.P.U.; Chang, H.-K.; Chen, P.-Y. Effective Unidirectional Wetting of Liquids on Multi-Gradient, Bio-Inspired Surfaces Fabricated by 3D Printing and Surface Modification. Polymers2024, 16, 1874.
Hsu, C.-N.; Mai, N.P.U.; Chang, H.-K.; Chen, P.-Y. Effective Unidirectional Wetting of Liquids on Multi-Gradient, Bio-Inspired Surfaces Fabricated by 3D Printing and Surface Modification. Polymers 2024, 16, 1874.
Hsu, C.-N.; Mai, N.P.U.; Chang, H.-K.; Chen, P.-Y. Effective Unidirectional Wetting of Liquids on Multi-Gradient, Bio-Inspired Surfaces Fabricated by 3D Printing and Surface Modification. Polymers2024, 16, 1874.
Hsu, C.-N.; Mai, N.P.U.; Chang, H.-K.; Chen, P.-Y. Effective Unidirectional Wetting of Liquids on Multi-Gradient, Bio-Inspired Surfaces Fabricated by 3D Printing and Surface Modification. Polymers 2024, 16, 1874.
Abstract
The movement of liquid droplets on the energy gradient surface has attracted extensive attention. Inspired by biological features in nature, such as the periodic spindle-shaped nodes in spider silks and conical-like barbs of cacti, the structure-property-function relationship of multifunctional gradient surfaces. In this study, a series of specific patterns are fabricated by 3D printing technology, followed by modification via the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment and liquid phase chemical deposition, resulting in enhancing the ability of water droplets of 5μL to travel 18.47mm on a horizontal plane and 22.75mm against gravity up to 20° tilting angle. Additionally, analysis techniques have been employed including contact angle analyzer, ESCA and laser confocal microscope to evaluate the sample performance. This work could further be applied to many applications related to microfluidic devices, drug delivery and water/fog collection.
Keywords
gradient wettability; anisotropic wetting; surface modification; water management
Subject
Chemistry and Materials Science, Materials Science and Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.