Bioinspired and Post-Functionalized 3D-Printed Surfaces with Parahydrophobic Properties

Abstract

Desertification is a growing risk for humanity. Studies show that water access will be the leading cause of massive migration in the future. For this reason, significant research efforts are devoted to identifying new sources of water. Among this work, one of the more interesting strategies takes advantage of atmospheric non-liquid water using water harvesting. Various strategies exist to harvest water, but many suffer from low yield. In this work, we take inspiration from a Mexican plant (Echeveria pulvinate) to prepare a material suitable for future water harvesting applications. Observation of E. pulvinate reveals that parahydrophobic properties are favorable for water harvesting. To mimic these properties, we leveraged a combination of 3D printing and post-functionalization to control surface wettability and obtain parahydrophobic properties. The prepared surfaces were investigated using IR and SEM. The surface roughness and wettability were also investigated to completely describe the elaborated surfaces and strongly hydrophobic surfaces with parahydrophobic properties are reported. This new approach offers a powerful platform to develop parahydrophobic features with desired three-dimensional shape.