Bio-inspired hierarchically structured polymer fibers for anisotropic non-wetting surfaces

Abstract

We demonstrate a rice leaf-like hierarchically textured polymer fiber array for anisotropic non-wetting surfaces. To provide superhydrophobicity in addition to the anisotropic behavior, fiber surfaces are spray coated with organically modified silica nanoparticles. The resulting micro/nano hierarchically structured fiber surfaces demonstrate anisotropic non-wetting properties. We designed various fiber architectures for droplet transportation, mixing, and guiding exploiting the scalability of the fiber texture during thermal drawing; optional nanoparticle surface modification; and inherent flexibility of the fibers.