Flexible Slippery Surface to Manipulate Droplet Coalescence and Sliding, and Its Practicability in Wind-Resistant Water Collection.

A flexible slippery membrane (FSM) with tunable morphology and high elastic deformability has been developed by infusing perfluoropolyether (PFPE) into a fluorinated-copolymer-modified thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiberous membrane. To immobilize PFPE in TPU matrix, we synthesized a fluorinated-copolymer poly(DFMA-co-IBOA-co-LMA) with low surface energy, high chemical affinity to PFPE, adequate flexibility, and strong physical adhesion on TPU. Upon external tensile stress, the as-prepared FSM can realize a real-time manipulation of water sliding and coalescence on it. Furthermore, it exhibits the ability to preserve the captured water from being blown away by strong wind, which ensures the water collection efficiency in windy regions.

[1]  Xiaowen Wang,et al.  Biomimetic Water-Collecting Fabric with Light-Induced Superhydrophilic Bumps. , 2016, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[2]  Lei Jiang,et al.  Electrospun Multiscale Structured Membrane for Efficient Water Collection and Directional Transport. , 2016, Small.

[3]  T. J. McCarthy,et al.  Covalently Attached Liquids: Instant Omniphobic Surfaces with Unprecedented Repellency. , 2016, Angewandte Chemie.

[4]  Robert W Style,et al.  It's Harder to Splash on Soft Solids. , 2015, Physical review letters.

[5]  H. Yabu,et al.  On‐Demand Liquid Transportation Using Bioinspired Omniphobic Lubricated Surfaces Based on Self‐Organized Honeycomb and Pincushion Films , 2015 .

[6]  Claire J. Carmalt,et al.  Robust self-cleaning surfaces that function when exposed to either air or oil , 2015, Science.

[7]  Stefan Seeger,et al.  Oil/water separation with selective superantiwetting/superwetting surface materials. , 2015, Angewandte Chemie.

[8]  J. Aizenberg,et al.  Condensation on slippery asymmetric bumps , 2015, Nature.

[9]  Weixin Liang,et al.  Biomimetic super-lyophobic and super-lyophilic materials applied for oil/water separation: a new strategy beyond nature. , 2015, Chemical Society reviews.

[10]  Lei Jiang,et al.  Cactus Stem Inspired Cone‐Arrayed Surfaces for Efficient Fog Collection , 2014 .

[11]  Daniel C Leslie,et al.  A bioinspired omniphobic surface coating on medical devices prevents thrombosis and biofouling , 2014, Nature Biotechnology.

[12]  Lei Jiang,et al.  Efficient Water Collection on Integrative Bioinspired Surfaces with Star‐Shaped Wettability Patterns , 2014, Advanced materials.

[13]  Yongmei Zheng,et al.  Bioinspired micro-/nanostructure fibers with a water collecting property. , 2014, Nanoscale.

[14]  Lin Yao,et al.  Recent progress in antireflection and self-cleaning technology – From surface engineering to functional surfaces , 2014 .

[15]  J. Aizenberg,et al.  Mobile Interfaces: Liquids as a Perfect Structural Material for Multifunctional, Antifouling Surfaces , 2014 .

[16]  Joanna Aizenberg,et al.  Adaptive fluid-infused porous films with tunable transparency and wettability. , 2013, Nature materials.

[17]  Evelyn N Wang,et al.  Jumping-droplet-enhanced condensation on scalable superhydrophobic nanostructured surfaces. , 2012, Nano letters.

[18]  Joanna Aizenberg,et al.  Liquid-infused nanostructured surfaces with extreme anti-ice and anti-frost performance. , 2012, ACS nano.

[19]  Lei Jiang,et al.  A multi-structural and multi-functional integrated fog collection system in cactus , 2012, Nature Communications.

[20]  Jin Zhai,et al.  Directional water collection on wetted spider silk , 2010, Nature.

[21]  K. Matyjaszewski,et al.  Comparison of thermomechanical properties of statistical, gradient and block copolymers of isobornyl acrylate and n-butyl acrylate with various acrylate homopolymers , 2008 .

[22]  M. Jhon,et al.  Surface energy and adhesion of perfluoropolyether nanofilms on carbon overcoat: The end group and backbone chain effect , 2006 .

[23]  S. Nannarone,et al.  Perfluoropolyether-based organic–inorganic hybrid coatings , 2006 .

[24]  Walter Federle,et al.  Insect aquaplaning: Nepenthes pitcher plants capture prey with the peristome, a fully wettable water-lubricated anisotropic surface. , 2004, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[25]  Ho-Young Kim,et al.  Sliding of liquid drops down an inclined solid surface. , 2002, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[26]  A. Parker,et al.  Water capture by a desert beetle , 2001, Nature.

[27]  T. Kinoshita,et al.  Novel materials based on silicone–acrylate copolymer networks , 2001 .

[28]  J. Higdon,et al.  On the gravitational displacement of three-dimensional fluid droplets from inclined solid surfaces , 1999, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[29]  L. Salem.  Attractive Forces between Long Saturated Chains at Short Distances , 1962 .

[30]  T. Alfrey,et al.  Side Chain Crystallization of n-Alkyl Polymethacrylates and Polyacrylates1 , 1954 .