3D‐Printed Biomimetic Super‐Hydrophobic Structure for Microdroplet Manipulation and Oil/Water Separation

Biomimetic functional surfaces are attracting increasing attention for various technological applications, especially the superhydrophobic surfaces inspired by plant leaves. However, the replication of the complex hierarchical microstructures is limited by the traditional fabrication techniques. In this paper, superhydrophobic micro-scale artificial hairs with eggbeater heads inspired by Salvinia molesta leaf was fabricated by the Immersed surface accumulation three dimensional (3D) printing process. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were added to the photocurable resins to enhance the surface roughness and mechanical strength of the microstructures. The 3D printed eggbeater surface reveals interesting properties…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: CMMI‐1151191, CMMI 1663663, CMMI 1335476