Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Surface Active Agents

Surface Active Agents

Surfactants, named for their behavior at interfaces, positively adsorb at the interfaces of two phases, reducing interfacial tension. Their versatility as emulsifiers, detergents, and foaming agents stems from this ability. Surfactants, often termed amphiphiles, share the property of amphipathy, with molecules having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions. The hydrophilic part is called the head, and the hydrophobic part, including an elongated alkyl substituent, forms the tail.Surfactants...

Surface Tension of Fluid

Surface Tension of Fluid

Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
Surface tension varies...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Free-standing liquid membranes as unusual particle separators.

Science advances·2018

Same author

Hydrophilic directional slippery rough surfaces for water harvesting.

Science advances·2018

Same author

Ultra-antireflective synthetic brochosomes.

Nature communications·2017

Same author

Ultrasensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection in common fluids.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2016

Same author

Slippery Wenzel State.

ACS nano·2015

Same author

Highly convergent route to cyclopeptide alkaloids: total synthesis of ziziphine N.

Organic letters·2007

Same journal

Integrated Electrode-to-Device Design via Combination of Grain Boundary Reconstruction and Dynamic Gas Management Toward Stable 3 Ah Aqueous Zinc-Iodine Pouch Cells.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same journal

Diblock Copolymer Engineered Swim Bladder Membrane Enables Spatiotemporal Synchronized Defense and Pro-Healing in Challenging Soft Tissue Regeneration.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same journal

Solvation Chemistry Reimagined: LiPF6-Enabled Suppression of Gas Evolution for Ultra-Stable 200 Ah Anode-Free Lithium-Metal Batteries.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same journal

Entropy-Driven Conformational Disorder Enables Outstanding High-Temperature Energy Storage in Dielectric Polymers.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same journal

Breaking Thermal Conductivity-Electrical Resistivity Trade-Off in Liquid Metal-Based Thermal Interface Materials via Interface Engineering.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same journal

Screen-Printed Few-Layer Graphene Platforms for Monitoring Switchable Spin-Crossover Phenomena at Room-Temperature.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Proof-of-Concept for Gas-Entrapping Membranes Derived from Water-Loving SiO2/Si/SiO2 Wafers for Green Desalination

Proof-of-Concept for Gas-Entrapping Membranes Derived from Water-Loving SiO2/Si/SiO2 Wafers for Green Desalination

Published on: March 1, 2020

A Switchable Cross-Species Liquid Repellent Surface.

Yu Huang^1,2, Birgitt Boschitsch Stogin^1,2, Nan Sun^1,2

¹Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)

|December 17, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists created a novel switchable surface with tunable liquid repellency. This adaptable surface can rapidly switch between superhydrophobic and slippery modes for advanced applications.

Keywords:

cross-species biomimetics slippery surfaces superhydrophobic surfaces switchable surfaces

More Related Videos

Rendering SiO2/Si Surfaces Omniphobic by Carving Gas-Entrapping Microtextures Comprising Reentrant and Doubly Reentrant Cavities or Pillars

Rendering SiO2/Si Surfaces Omniphobic by Carving Gas-Entrapping Microtextures Comprising Reentrant and Doubly Reentrant Cavities or Pillars

Published on: February 11, 2020

Preparation and High-temperature Anti-adhesion Behavior of a Slippery Surface on Stainless Steel

Preparation and High-temperature Anti-adhesion Behavior of a Slippery Surface on Stainless Steel

Published on: March 29, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Proof-of-Concept for Gas-Entrapping Membranes Derived from Water-Loving SiO2/Si/SiO2 Wafers for Green Desalination

Proof-of-Concept for Gas-Entrapping Membranes Derived from Water-Loving SiO2/Si/SiO2 Wafers for Green Desalination

Published on: March 1, 2020

Rendering SiO2/Si Surfaces Omniphobic by Carving Gas-Entrapping Microtextures Comprising Reentrant and Doubly Reentrant Cavities or Pillars

Rendering SiO2/Si Surfaces Omniphobic by Carving Gas-Entrapping Microtextures Comprising Reentrant and Doubly Reentrant Cavities or Pillars

Published on: February 11, 2020

Preparation and High-temperature Anti-adhesion Behavior of a Slippery Surface on Stainless Steel

Preparation and High-temperature Anti-adhesion Behavior of a Slippery Surface on Stainless Steel

Published on: March 29, 2018

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Surface Chemistry
Biomimetics

Background:

Superhydrophobic surfaces mimic lotus leaves for water repellency.
Slippery surfaces inspired by pitcher plants reduce adhesion.
Controlling surface properties dynamically is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel surface with switchable liquid-repellent properties.
To enable rapid transitions between superhydrophobic and slippery states.
To demonstrate adaptive liquid repellency and programmable fog harvesting.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of a cross-species biomimetic surface.
Characterization of surface properties in different liquid-repellent modes.
Demonstration of dynamic switching between modes.

Main Results:

Successfully developed a surface capable of switching between superhydrophobic and slippery states.
Demonstrated rapid and reversible transitions between the two distinct liquid-repellent modes.
Showcased adaptive liquid repellency and programmable fog harvesting capabilities.

Conclusions:

The developed switchable surface offers unprecedented control over liquid interactions.
This technology opens new avenues for adaptive surfaces and efficient water management.
Potential applications include advanced coatings, microfluidics, and environmental technologies.