In Situ Multi-Directional Liquid Manipulation Enabled by 3D Asymmetric Fang-Structured Surface

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Surface Science
• Fluid Dynamics

Background:

• Controlling liquid spreading on surfaces is crucial for various applications.
• Existing methods using wetting gradients or topological structures offer uni-directional control but lack flexibility.
• Current technologies struggle with multi-directional liquid control due to fixed designs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a novel structured surface capable of in situ, customized multi-directional liquid spreading control.
• To overcome the limitations of fixed-design surfaces in manipulating liquid behavior.
• To explore innovative applications enabled by multi-modal liquid control.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a structured surface with arrayed three-dimensional asymmetric fang-structured units.
• Investigation of liquid spreading behavior on the engineered surface with varying liquid properties (surface tension, wettability).
• Analysis of Laplace pressure gradients generated by the surface's multi-curvature features.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of five novel modes of multi-directional liquid spreading control.
• Correlation of multi-curvature features with varied Laplace pressure gradients guiding liquid flow.
• Successful implementation of selective multi-path circuits, portable surface tension indication, and targeted cooling functionalities.

Conclusions:

• The developed structured surface enables unprecedented in situ, multi-directional control of liquid spreading based on liquid properties.
• The surface's unique design and resulting liquid manipulation capabilities open new avenues for advanced material and device development.
• This work presents a significant advancement in surface engineering for sophisticated liquid handling and functional applications.