Multiple-dimensional micro/nano structural models for hydrophobicity of butterfly wing surfaces and coupling mechanism

Efficient and Controllable Preparation of Tridirectionally Anisotropic Sliding Surfaces Based on Spatial Light Modulator

Realizing the efficient and controllable preparation of tridirectionally anisotropic sliding surfaces (TASSs) is extremely important. However, achieving efficient preparation of TASSs remains a great challenge. Using a spatial light modulator combined with an image feedback algorithm to adjust the femtosecond laser beam to multifocus array with a gradient intensity distribution is an efficient solution to achieve this target. Specifically, the two solutions of multifocus combination and focus intensity design are used to realize the efficient and controllable preparation of TASSs, and the structure and performance characterizations are carried out to prove the superiority of this method. It is believed that the proposal of this method can provide more inspiration for solving the high-efficiency processing problems of complex micro/nanostructures.

Bioinspired Additive Manufacturing of Hierarchical Materials: From Biostructures to Functions

Throughout billions of years, biological systems have evolved sophisticated, multiscale hierarchical structures to adapt to changing environments. Biomaterials are synthesized under mild conditions through a bottom-up self-assembly process, utilizing substances from the surrounding environment, and meanwhile are regulated by genes and proteins. Additive manufacturing, which mimics this natural process, provides a promising approach to developing new materials with advantageous properties similar to natural biological materials. This review presents an overview of natural biomaterials, emphasizing their chemical and structural compositions at various scales, from the nanoscale to the macroscale, and the key mechanisms underlying their properties. Additionally, this review describes the designs, preparations, and applications of bioinspired multifunctional materials produced through additive manufacturing at different scales, including nano, micro, micro-macro, and macro levels. The review highlights the potential of bioinspired additive manufacturing to develop new functional materials and insights into future directions and prospects in this field. By summarizing the characteristics of natural biomaterials and their synthetic counterparts, this review inspires the development of new materials that can be utilized in various applications.

Superhydrophobic modification of cellulosic paper-based materials: Fabrication, properties, and versatile applications

Cellulose is the cheapest and mostly widespread green raw material on earth. Due to the easy and versatile developed modification of cellulose, many cellulosic paper-based sustainable materials and their multifunctional applications have attained increasing interest under the background of the implementation of the "plastic ban" policy. However, intrinsic cellulose paper is hydrophilic and non-water-proof, which highly limited its application, thus becoming a bottleneck for the development of "cellulosic paper-based plastic replacement". Unquestioningly, the superhydrophobic modification of cellulosic paper-based materials and the extension of their high value-added applications are highly desired, which is the main content of this review. More importantly, we presented the comprehensive discussion of the functionalized applications of superhydrophobic cellulosic paper-based materials ranging from conventional products to high value-added functional materials such as paper straw and paper mulch film for the first time, which have great industrialization potential and value. This review would offer the valuable guidance and insightful information for the rational construction of sustainable superhydrophobic cellulosic paper for advanced functional devices.

Spectral Engineering of Hybrid Biotemplated Photonic/Photocatalytic Nanoarchitectures

Solar radiation is a cheap and abundant energy for water remediation, hydrogen generation by water splitting, and CO₂ reduction. Supported photocatalysts have to be tuned to the pollutants to be eliminated. Spectral engineering may be a handy tool to increase the efficiency or the selectivity of these. Photonic nanoarchitectures of biological origin with hierarchical organization from nanometers to centimeters are candidates for such applications. We used the blue wing surface of laboratory-reared male Polyommatus icarus butterflies in combination with atomic layer deposition (ALD) of conformal ZnO coating and octahedral Cu₂O nanoparticles (NP) to explore the possibilities of engineering the optical and catalytic properties of hybrid photonic nanoarchitectures. The samples were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy and optical and scanning electron microscopy. Their photocatalytic performance was benchmarked by comparing the initial decomposition rates of rhodamine B. Cu₂O NPs alone or on the butterfly wings, covered by a 5 nm thick layer of ZnO, showed poor performance. Butterfly wings, or ZnO coated butterfly wings with 15 nm ALD layer showed a 3 to 3.5 times enhancement as compared to bare glass. The best performance of almost 4.3 times increase was obtained for the wings conformally coated with 15 nm ZnO, deposited with Cu₂O NPs, followed by conformal coating with an additional 5 nm of ZnO by ALD. This enhanced efficiency is associated with slow light effects on the red edge of the reflectance maximum of the photonic nanoarchitectures and with enhanced carrier separation through the n-type ZnO and the p-type Cu₂O heterojunction. Properly chosen biologic photonic nanoarchitectures in combination with carefully selected photocatalyst(s) can significantly increase the photodegradation of pollutants in water under visible light illumination.

Programmable Transition between Adhesive/Anti-Adhesive Performances on Porous PVDF Spheres Supported by Shape Memory PLLA

Superhydrophobic surfaces with switchable adhesive/anti-adhesive performances are highly desired but still challenging. Herein, by loading porous poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) spheres on a shape memory polylactic acid (PLLA) film, a quasi-superhydrophobic surface of composite film (PVDF@PLLA) with the ability to tailor its surface structures/composition and related adhesive behaviors was fabricated. The as-prepared surface is covered by porous PVDF spheres. The combination of hydrophobicity of PVDF and hierarchical roughness resulted from porous spheres contributing to the high contact angle and low sliding angle, corresponding to Cassie state and lotus leaves effect. Upon uniaxial or biaxial tension, the distance among hydrophobic spheres is so high that more and more hydrophilic defects (PLLA film) have been exposed to water droplets, accounting for the quasi-superhydrophobic surface with a higher sliding angle. This is the reason for the Wenzel state and rose petals effect. After heating, PLLA film recovers to its original state. The porous PVDF spheres cover the whole film again, leading to the enhanced mobility of water droplets on the surface. The transition between the rose petals effect and the lotus leaves effect is programmable and reversible. Our result provides a novel strategy to tailor adhesive behaviors by combining (quasi-)superhydrophobic surface with shape memory effect.

From Bioinspired to Bioinformed: Benefits of Greater Engagement From Biologists

Bioinspiration and biomimetics is a rapidly growing field where insights from biology are used to solve current design challenges. Nature provides an abundance of inspiration to draw upon, yet biological information is under-exploited due to a concerning lack of engagement from biologists. To assess the extent of this problem, we surveyed the current state of the field using the Web of Science database and found that only 41% of publications on bioinspired or biomimetic research included an author affiliated with a biology-related department or organisation. In addition, most publications focus exclusively on a limited range of popular model species. Considering these findings, we highlight key reasons why greater engagement from biologists will enable new and significant insights from natural selection and the diversity of life. Likewise, biologists are missing unique opportunities to study biological phenomena from the perspective of other disciplines, particularly engineering. We discuss the importance of striving toward a bioinformed approach, as current limitations in the field can only be overcome with a greater understanding of the ecological and evolutionary contexts behind each bioinspired/biomimetic solution.

Control of Large-Area Orderliness of a 2D Supramolecular Chiral Microstructure by a 1D Interference Field

Self-organized periodic micro/nanostructures caused by stimulus-responsive structural deformation often occur in anisotropic self-assembled supramolecular systems (e.g., liquid crystal systems). However, the long-range orderliness of these structures is often beyond control. In this article, we first demonstrate that a large-area disordered two-dimensional (2D) microgrid chiral structure appears in the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) reactive mixture because of the photopolymerization-induced Helfrich deformation effect under exposure to the single UV-laser beam. The result is attributed to the impact of an internal longitudinal strain, which is caused by the pitch contraction of the CLC-monomer region through the continuing compression of the thickening CLC polymer layer adhered on the illuminated substrate of the sample during photopolymerization. The experimental results further show that a one-dimensional (1D) UV-laser interference field can be used to effectively control the postformed 2D microgrid structure to arrange in an orderly manner throughout the large exposed area (an order of centimeter). The optimum ability for controlling the orderliness of the microgrid structure can be achieved if the spacing width of the interference field approximates the periodicity of the postformed 2D microgrids. Several factors, such as the pitch of the CLC mixture and the included angle and intensity of the two interfering laser beams, which influence the orderliness and properties of the 2D microgrid structure, are explored in this study. The result of this research opens a new page to improve the applicability of the Helfrich deformation phenomenon and further provides a reference platform for manipulating, modifying, and even tailoring periodic micro/nanostructures in self-organized supramolecular soft-matter systems for application in advanced optics/photonics.

Understanding the structural diversity of chitins as a versatile biomaterial

Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers, and it has adopted many different structural conformations using a combination of different natural processes like biopolymerization, crystallization and non-equilibrium self-assembly. This leads to a number of striking physical effects like complex light scattering and polarization as well as unique mechanical properties. In doing so, chitin uses a fine balance between the highly ordered chain conformations in the nanofibrils and random disordered structures. In this opinion piece, we discuss the structural hierarchy of chitin, its crystalline states and the natural biosynthesis processes to create such specific structures and diversity. Among the examples we explored, the unified question arises from the generation of completely different bioarchitectures like the Christmas tree-like nanostructures, gyroids or helicoidal geometries using similar dynamic non-equilibrium growth processes. Understanding the in vivo development of such structures from gene expressions, enzymatic activities as well as the chemical matrix employed in different stages of the biosynthesis will allow us to shift the material design paradigms. Certainly, the complexity of the biology requires a collaborative and multi-disciplinary research effort. For the future's advanced technologies, using chitin will ultimately drive many innovations and alternatives using biomimicry in materials science. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bio-derived and bioinspired sustainable advanced materials for emerging technologies (part 1)'.

Wing wettability gradient in a damselfly Lestes sponsa (Odonata: Lestidae) reflects the submergence behaviour during underwater oviposition

The phenomenon of hydrophobicity of insect cuticles has received great attention from technical fields due to its wide applicability to industry or medicine. However, in an ecological/evolutionary context such studies remain scarce. We measured spatial differences in wing wettability in Lestes sponsa (Odonata: Lestidae), a damselfly species that can submerge during oviposition, and discussed the possible functional significance. Using dynamic contact angle (CA) measurements together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we investigated differences in wettability among distal, middle and proximal wing regions, and in surface nanostructures potentially responsible for observed differences. As we moved from distal towards more proximal parts, mean values of advancing and receding CAs gradually increased from 104° to 149°, and from 67° to 123°, respectively, indicating that wing tips were significantly less hydrophobic than more proximal parts. Moreover, values of CA hysteresis for the respective wing parts decreased from 38° to 26°, suggesting greater instability of the structure of the wing tips. Accordingly, compared with more proximal parts, SEM revealed higher damage of the wax nanostructures at the distal region. The observed wettability gradient is well explained by the submergence behaviour of L. sponsa during underwater oviposition. Our study thus proposed the existence of species-dependent hydrophobicity gradient on odonate wings caused by different ovipositional strategies.

SiO2@TiO2 Composite Synthesis and Its Hydrophobic Applications: A Review

Titanium dioxide is well known for its photocatalytic properties and low toxicity, meanwhile, silicone dioxide exhibits hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties and thermal stability. The union of these two materials offers a composite material with a wide range of applications that relate directly to the combined properties. The SiO2-TiO2 composite has been synthesized through physical methods and chemical methods and, with adequate conditions, morphology, crystallinity, boundaries between SiO2-TiO2, among other properties, can be controlled. Thus, the applications of this composite are wide for surface applications, being primarily used as powder or coating. However, the available research information on this kind of composite material is still novel, therefore research in this field is still needed in order to clarify all the physical and chemical properties of the material. This review aims to encompass the available methods of synthesis of SiO2-TiO2 composite with modifiers or dopants, the application and known chemical and physical properties in surfaces such as glass, mortar and textile, including aspects for the development of this material.

Self-powered electrochromic devices with tunable infrared intensity

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is an efficient way to convert ambient mechanical energy into electricity to power up portable electronics. In this work, a flexible infrared electrochromical device (IR-ECD) with stable performances was assembled with a TENG for building self-powered infrared detector with tunable intensity. As driven by TENG, the electrochromic device could be operated in the mid-IR region due to the reversible electrochromic reactions. An average infrared reflectance contrast of 46% was achieved in 8-14 μm regions and as well a clear thermal image change can be observed. This work indicates that the TENG-driven infrared electrochromical device has potential for use in self-powered camouflage and thermal control.

Transparent superhydrophobic hollow films (TSHFs) with superior thermal stability and moisture resistance

Transparent superhydrophobic hollow films, (CA > 160°, SA < 5°, transmittance closes to 90%), were prepared by methyltrimethoxysilane CVD, using candle soot as template.