Bioinspired Slippery Lubricant-Infused Surfaces With External Stimuli Responsive Wettability: A Mini Review.

Xian Yang,Ei Ei Sann,Yu Huang,Xiaoyu Zhang,Yan Zhao,Xiaoding Lou,Khin Hla Mon,Jinhua Wang,Fan Xia

doi:10.3389/fchem.2019.00826

Abstract

Responsive slippery lubricant-infused surfaces (SLIS) have attracted substantial attention because of the high demand of fundamental research and practical applications, such as controllable liquid-repellency, intelligent, and easy-to-implement wettability switching. In this review, advanced development of responsive slippery surfaces is briefly summarized upon various external stimuli, including stress, electrical field, magnetic field, and temperature. In addition, remaining challenge and prospect are also discussed.

Highlights

Surface’s wettability is one of the most fundamental performances in numerous biological processes and industrial technologies, which attracts researchers’ interest for a long time
In the past decades, owing to new understanding of species wetting mechanism, bio-inspired materials with super-wettability are flourishing through modeled after surface morphology and chemical composition of the nature species (Liu et al, 2017; Sett et al, 2017; Li et al, 2019)
Nepenthes pitcher plants fill water in the spaces among the micro structure to form a slippery liquid film, leading insects to aquaplane into their stomach

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Surface’s wettability is one of the most fundamental performances in numerous biological processes and industrial technologies, which attracts researchers’ interest for a long time. Responsive Slippery Lubricant-Infused Surfaces flat, the key feature of SLIS is the thin layer of lubricant cover the substrate. This lubricant layer forms a dynamic and stable lubricant/substrate interface If this thin lubricant is removed, the film would lose its excellent liquid repellency and droplet pin on the surface as a result. Based on this mechanism, SLIS with controllable and reversible wettability were developed through stimulus-triggered switch in substrate’s chemical composition or/and morphologies, lubricant’s height or/and phase, repellent liquid’s chemical component and so on. Traditional thermal response is mainly realized by thermosensitive lubricant such as paraffin or mixtures of solid/liquid oil

Mechanically Responsive SLIS

Electrical Field Responsive SLIS

Magnetic Field Responsive SLIS

Temperature Responsive SLIS