Liquid/air dynamic behaviors and regulation mechanisms for bioinspired surface

Abstract

Liquid/air accurate regulation has attracted growing attention in recent years for its diverse potential applications in bio-medicines, heat management, green energy, etc. Natural surfaces evolved innumerable hierarchical structures with exceptional functions to govern or regulate the liquid dynamic behaviors for their vital living, which have gradually been discovered as inspirations for creative design, such as fog harvesting, water fast transporting, and strong wet attachment. This review summarizes the current progress of bioinspired liquid/air regulations and their underlying mechanisms, including fast liquid/air spreading, liquid/air directional transport, and the interfacial liquid/air bridge acting forces. A fundamental understanding of both liquid/air dynamic behaviors on liquid–air–solid interfaces and their effects on the surface function has been increased with awareness of the importance of coupling effects from surface structures and material properties. The design principles and fabrication methods for bioinspired surface structure with unique liquid/air regulation are concluded, and several significant applications for electronics heat dissipation and biomedical devices are also presented. Finally, we provide new insights and future perspectives for the liquid/air regulation-based bioinspired functional materials.