Bioinspired Fibers with Controlled Wettability: From Spinning to Application

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomimetics
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Spider silks demonstrate the significance of heterogeneous structures and surface chemistry for controllable wettability in engineered materials.
• Understanding these natural systems is crucial for developing advanced fibrous materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the development of nature-inspired spinning processes for biomimetic fibers.
• To summarize relevant wetting states in fiber-based systems.
• To highlight recent applications of engineered fibers in water management and functional surfaces.

Main Methods:

• Review of historical development of nature-inspired spinning processes.
• Analysis of spider silk properties and their translation to synthetic materials.
• Summarization of wetting states in fiber systems.
• Review of recent applications in fog harvesting, water collection, and filtration.

Main Results:

• Spider silk provides a model for creating fibers, surfaces, and 3D materials with tunable wettability.
• Nature-inspired spinning processes have evolved, offering various advantages and disadvantages.
• One-dimensional and two-dimensional spindle-knotted fibrous systems show promise for efficient fog harvesting, water collection, and filtration.

Conclusions:

• Biomimetic fibers engineered with controlled wettability are crucial for advanced applications.
• Future research should focus on further developing these fibers for wetting-controlled engineering.