Bioinspired interfacial materials with enhanced drop mobility: From fundamentals to multifunctional applications

Abstract

The development of bio-inspired interfacial materials with enhanced drop mobility that mimic the innate functionalities of nature will have significant impact on the energy, environment and global healthcare. In spite of extensive progress, the state of the art of interfacial materials have not reached the level of maturity sufficient for industrial applications in terms of scalability, stability and reliability, which are complicated by their operating environments and lack of facile approaches to exquisitely control the local structural texture and chemical composition at multiple length scales. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in the fundamental understanding as well as practical applications of bio-inspired interfacial materials, with an emphasis on the drop impact induced bouncing and coalescence induced jumping behaviors. We also suggest our own perspectives on how to catalyze new discoveries and to foster technological adoption to move this exciting area forward.