Bioinspired superhydrophobic surface by hierarchically colloidal assembling of microparticles and colloidal nanoparticles

Abstract

Functional materials with specific wettability surfaces are valuable for many areas. Extensive applications for superwettbility have led to demand for integrating devices with flexible and multi-functional. Here, inspired by the super-adhesive of mussels and the hierarchical structures of mosquitos’ compound eyes, we proposed a new method to construct functional hierarchical superhydrophobic surface by self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles. The monolayer micron-scaled photonic crystal film is self-assembled on the surface of the liquid and deposited on the as-prepared dopamine-modified substrate. Then, a single layer of nanoscale photonic crystal film is self-assembled on the surface of the liquid and deposited on the prepared monolayer micron-scale film. In addition, the assembled structure is highly ordered and presents a certain structural color. When the surface is changed, the liquid will be injected into the ordered structure, causing the change of structure color. The hierarchical photonic crystal films with structural hydrophobic can be prepared on arbitrary intricate surfaces. Moreover, we have also explored the potential use of these hierarchical films as indicators for the surface wettability. These indicate that the hierarchical films are highly versatile for different applications.